IT band / physio / insoles

[240Cup]

So having been getting seriously (well for me anyway) back into cycling (couple of 30 mile round trips twice a week on a roadie) I have an injury to one hip for which I have been under a physio for some time and it is not really getting better, in fact the other side is starting to ache now as well. Apparently it is bursitis / IT band strain and common in cycling. My physio says I am flat footed and put me on some fancy machine which showed where the pressure is applied in my feet and says custom insoles would be a big help to re-create the arches in my feet as it is probably this which is putting a strain on my hips (and I get the odd twinge in my knees as well which she says is related).

Any thoughts on this? In theory I see what she means. when I got measured for ski boots some years back they said the same and put me in some insoles which they had formed on a machine in the ski shop (Snow Rock).

The custom insoles being suggested by the physio are something like £350...! Apparently I can wear them in my normal shoes but also move them from pair of shoes to pair of shoes, trainers etc and even put them in my cleats although the thought of having them in there concerns me (I hate even being able to feel the seam in a pair of socks!).

Cheers all

240

[240Cup]

All very good stuff fellas thanks.

Yeah it is defo flat feet I have as opposed to high arch. I have both hips giving me grief and inside of left knee. Problems I currently 'work around' by letting them calm down a bit between rides and then for each ride trying to warm up properly, bit of physio etc but I feel it is really holding me back from a. piling on the miles and b. going hard at it!

I might check out those specialized insoles and also been meaning to do a bike fit for ages. Is it the case that a decent bike fit specialist might suggest the insoles as well as getting the bike set up right, i.e. do they assess your physiological make up as well?

[240Cup]

sorry for assuming you were all fellas...!

Yes I have a foam roller given (sold £££) to me by physio - don't get on with it at all as I find it really hard to balance while stretching the IT band..!

I visited Snow Rock yesterday evening and they have fitted a pair of superfeet (blue) in my cycling shoes. I was going to have the custom ones made in store but there is a 60 day refund policy on the superfeet so the very helpful chap said see how I get on with those and come back if I feel I need to go the custom (more expensive) route.

First ride out tomorrow so will see how it goes...

[240Cup]

Did 50 miles yesterday and the insoles felt fine (as in I didn't notice them in the shoes) but my hips still hurt last night - have physio booked for tomorrow and Thursday and will see what the physio says. My pedal stroke felt better though, kind of straighter through the leg without as much over rotation. I think the damage has probably already been done and it is a case of fixing that and the insoles are at the very least not making it any worse..!

[240Cup]

The plot thickens.. took my bike into a decent bike shop today to get them to look at bottom bracket (faint squeak /clicking) for which they are changing the bearings.

But all three blokes in the shop went "woah how far forwards is your saddle??!"

I have a Boardman road team carbon and it has a 120mm handlebar stem which has always seemed very long and a bit of a stretch so to compensate the saddle has been set at it's maximum forward setting - so far forwards it is not even on the measurement markings underneath.

Could that be setting my legs in a bad position (too far forwards) relevant to the bottom bracket and possibly the root of all the problems?

Made contact with a bike fitter today to try and get some time with them. I might change the stem to say 100mm in the meantime and put the saddle 20mm backwards.

Didn't realise it was this complicated, thought you just got on a bike and rode it until you ran out of puff .... :-)

[240Cup]

Thanks all. Saw my physio again today and she said not to fiddle around with stem lengths etc myself and strictly no more riding until I have a bike fit so have booked one for Friday - a 3 hour Retul.

Will post back with the gory details - will be interesting to find out what adjustments need to be made...!

Cheers, 240

[240Cup]

Thought I would update this post bike fit...

Visited Garth at Vankru in Hampshire (very nice fella) and spent a good few hours going through everything on the bike and assessing my riding position etc. Everything Garth said seemed well informed and logical and the resulting stats were very interesting:

In short, I was riding kind of sideways - further forwards on my left side and also a lot of lateral movement in both pedal stroke and my hips - to my mind possibly contributing to if not causing the IT band issues. My right foot points down at the floor, and left is flat. Riding with average effort was not too bad but upping the work rate and I was all over the place!

Changes made:

Stem from 120 to 100
shims in cleats
new saddle (on loan) with more support/flatter as I seemed to be slipping forwards on the previous one
Adjusted front left brake/shifter position as it was set lower on the bars than the right one meaning I was stretching more on the left side to reach it..!

Garth also gave me some good stretching exercises and strengthening exercises as he has personal experience of IT band problems.

Had my first decent ride this morning and it is like riding a different bike. The position feels much better, I've returned with no pain in hips. Definitely had more power, hit a personal best top speed! I also made a conscious effort to use a much stricter 'stroke' position with no wobbling around.

Need to go and see Garth again when I've done a few more miles to run some further stats but so far it seems to have made a massive difference - money well spent and I wish I had done this straightaway after buying the bike as I reckon it would have saved me £500 in physio bills!

All in all a hugely beneficial process - highly recommended.

Cheers, 240