What's my left foot doing?

[Veloo]

Working in a warehouse as a teen, I came down a ladder, stepped on the corner of a skid and rolled my ankle. Bad enough that it seemed to shift the bone slightly. Not bad enough that I did anything beyond one round of physio cuz you know, I was an indestructible teen.

Fast FWD 25 years, I need arch supports and the left tends to go numb even riding with runnning shoes or sandals on platform pedals.

I noticed the tongue on the left shoe will start centered but always makes its way outward. Right side stays put.

I wonder what exactly is causing this cuz I do have custom insoles in these shoes.

[kgreene10]

I never stepped on a skid but my messed up right foot makes the tongue of my shoe wander. I never thought much of it but now I want an answer too!

[david]

a cobbler can tack the tongue so it stays in place.

[Dead Man]

take those cheap ass shoes back

[Matthew]

Maybe rotating ever so slightly during the pedal stroke? Outward rotation?

[paredown]

Didja put your left foot, then put yer left foot out?

In that case, you are doing the Hokey-Pokey with that foot...:banana:

Seriously, someone told me when I was also indestructible (or so I thought) that I would feel all of those accidents when I was old was telling the truth.

I had multiple severe sprains on my right ankle, but I finally went to a Physio/quack in my 40s to do some range of motion/manipulation etc, since I was walking as if my right foot were a block of wood, and having lots of foot pain as a result.

She got me loosened up, pedaling improved and walking no longer hurt. Worth a try...

[Joxster]

Does it cause any discomfort or problems? The tongues on my shoes (not just cycling shoes) roam all the time but it doesn't cause any problems, apart from weight gain ;)

[Veloo]

No discomfort or loss of performance.
AT first I thought the tongue was sewn in off center. The I thought I was putting it on that way in haste.
Realized it was wandering last year. Meant to ask Don if he's ever heard of before but never got around to it.

I definitely need to go see a physio/ kinesiologist to get this aging body tuned up.

[John H.]

My D2 shoes do the exact same thing.
I think it comes from 2 things.
1.) He makes the toe box fairly tall (if you need that)- provides comfort but it makes the dip at the front of the tongue that your left shoe has.
2.) Your feet sort of change shape as you pedal. This allows the tongue to squiggle around a bit.

Why does it happen on one foot but not the other? I would guess that your feet are not identical, nor are the shoes.

As I said, same thing happens to my D2 shoes- more on the left than the right.

[Peter P.]

Your left foot is rolling outward during the pedal stroke. Probably the same direction your foot collapsed when you stepped on the skid.

[Tickdoc]

I have tennis shoes that are the same, but not this problem on my road shoes ( but none have a loose tongue.)

My foot was stepped on hard/rolled broken? during soccer. Hurt for years after until yoga, but the tendency to roll a tongue out like that is stil there. And mortons neuroma on that foot, and a slight bunion on that foot. I also have skinny feet, which I think contributes.

I'd say no pain, no worries.

Nice shoes too, btw.

[unterhausen]

if your toes are going numb, you probably have Morton's neuroma. Mine has been successfully treated with metatarsal pads, but if you aren't doing anything about it, the condition will probably continue to get worse.

[Tony]

Your left foot looks like its over pronating, rolling inward.

[dgauthier]

No discomfort or loss of performance.
AT first I thought the tongue was sewn in off center. The I thought I was putting it on that way in haste.
Realized it was wandering last year. Meant to ask Don if he's ever heard of before but never got around to it.

I definitely need to go see a physio/ kinesiologist to get this aging body tuned up.

Does it happen with your everyday walking shoes? Do your everyday shoes show uneven wear? Do you ever have foot numbness off the bike?

If you only see this on your cycling shoes, perhaps you only have an issue when pedaling a bicycle. A visit to a good bike fitter who can analyse your pedal stroke may be more productive than a visit to a general physiotherapist.

[cmg]

when you pedal the pressure is on the downstroke? the top of shoe is at it's most looseness, foot comes up and rolls out taking the tongue with it. toes go numb? put a something that will separate the balls of the toes. specialize makes foot bed that does something like that

[11.4]

You probably had hyper mobile feet, at least (or particularly) on the left side, before the accident. It's what probably caused the accident as well.

I'd concur that the upper height in D2's is very comfortable but can leave room for the tongue to wander. If you let the tongue slip and tighten it up once or twice, it'll take a set in that position, which has nothing to do with your foot or the shoe design but simply the leather adopting a position that it stretched slightly and got used to. Leather shoes do that, while Lorica and others won't. I'd spray the base of the tongue, inside and out, with rubbing alcohol, put the shoes on and strap them up slightly on the tight side with the tongue in exactly the right position, and wear them around the house until the alcohol completely dries. It will reset most issues like that. Then just be careful not to let the tongue slip again.

And as for left toe numbness, that could be a slight sizing difference in the shoes. It could be a result of a hyper mobile foot that tends to extend when pedaling and puts pressures on the toes. It could be a problem with the sole shape under your forefoot -- most likely a defect in how you held your feet when creating Don's orthotic molds. It could be a response to past injury -- residual damage from a broken metatarsal, impeded blood flow from internal scarring, a lack of flexibility in the foot that tenses up muscles and reduces blood flow, and so on. Many possible reasons. Most people have one kind of foot issue or another, and yours are small compared to many. If you can get to Don's shop, I'd think about having him check out your orthotics for accurate fit.

[djg21]

You probably had hyper mobile feet, at least (or particularly) on the left side, before the accident. It's what probably caused the accident as well.

I'd concur that the upper height in D2's is very comfortable but can leave room for the tongue to wander. If you let the tongue slip and tighten it up once or twice, it'll take a set in that position, which has nothing to do with your foot or the shoe design but simply the leather adopting a position that it stretched slightly and got used to. Leather shoes do that, while Lorica and others won't. I'd spray the base of the tongue, inside and out, with rubbing alcohol, put the shoes on and strap them up slightly on the tight side with the tongue in exactly the right position, and wear them around the house until the alcohol completely dries. It will reset most issues like that. Then just be careful not to let the tongue slip again.

And as for left toe numbness, that could be a slight sizing difference in the shoes. It could be a result of a hyper mobile foot that tends to extend when pedaling and puts pressures on the toes. It could be a problem with the sole shape under your forefoot -- most likely a defect in how you held your feet when creating Don's orthotic molds. It could be a response to past injury -- residual damage from a broken metatarsal, impeded blood flow from internal scarring, a lack of flexibility in the foot that tenses up muscles and reduces blood flow, and so on. Many possible reasons. Most people have one kind of foot issue or another, and yours are small compared to many. If you can get to Don's shop, I'd think about having him check out your orthotics for accurate fit.

I agree re: hyper-mobile feet. This can be congenital, or result from an injury or ligament damage. If you have hyper-mobile feet, your feet can move within a shoe as the foot weights and unweights during the pedal stroke. This can cause the tongue to migrate. If it's just the tongue migrating that concerns you, the quick fix is to go to a shoe repair shop and have a couple of stitches sewn into the body of the shoe and the tongue. The cost for this fix at a shoe repair shop near you will be less than the cost of shipping out to D2, and it will take a few minutes. But if it isn't actually bothering you, maybe it's not worth fixing what ain't broken?

IME, the toe boxes of D2 shoes aren't overly tall (unless you specifically ask for more volume in the toes). I have a very wide forefoot that is pretty low volume (duck feet). The toe boxes on my D2 have never been overly large, and I've never had issues with the tongues of my D2 shoes migrating.

As to OP's "orthotic," I'd like to know what kind he's using. Is it a D2 footbed, or an orthotic made by a podiatrist or orthotist, or something else? If not a D2 orthotic, was the shoe built around the orthotic, or was the orthotic built for use in the D2 shoe?