Foot Pain During Cycling in Pregnancy: Causes & Relief

Question
I am almost 30 weeks pregnant and do high intensity aerobic exercise regularly. My spinning class is structured in such a way that other than the first 5 minutes, the entire class is carried out in a standing riding position. I wear cycling shoes but after about 15 minutes I start to get intense pain in my feet. I hate to have to sit down *not* because I am physically tired (i.e., because of the pregnancy) but because of painful feet. Do you know what might be causing this and what I can do about it so that it won't affect my workouts? I don't have any other pregnancy foot-related problems such as swollen feet. Thanks!

Answer
Pregnancy hormones loosen ligaments (which stabilize our joints) so the constant standing (combined with the addition of extra pregnancy pounds) in a spinning class might be enough to strain the fascia on the bottom of your feet, which support the arches of your feet. It's not unusual for feet to get slightly wider in the last tri too.

Pregnancy is a time to modify athletic activities as necessary, according to individual needs. Staying seated, at 30 weeks, in a spinning class, is not something to feel badly about. This will not decrease your fitness level.

It's common for athletic pregnant women to have a hard time adjusting to the changes that the last half of pregnancy, and postpartum, bring on. Athletic women have a lot of identity and self worth tied to what their bodies can do and look like. So it's common to feel anxiety when we have to temporarily give up, or modify, a favorite activity.

You only have 10 weeks to go, then your body will go through a transitional "mommy body" phase postpartum, before evolving back into your previous athletic capabilities. On the bright side, spinning is an activity that is easily modified. Many runners find that they have to stop running entirely in the last tri.

http://www.befitmom.com