Back in early May I injured my left ankle riding down some steps. I hit the
bottom step with my left crank down and back. I had most of my weight on that
foot at the time, and the ball of my foot went up while my heel went down,
forcefully overflexing my ankle. I felt sharp pain in the front part of my
ankle, above the instep. This hurt a lot, so I sat for several minutes hoping I
hadn’t injured myself too badly to walk.
I got up and rode again in a few minutes, but since then this either hasn’t
healed or reinjures more easily. I have been careful but every so often I’ll hit
a bump or catch the pedal wrong and get a new twinge.
I’m starting to think it’s due to my pedal technique. From the start I have
ridden with the ball of my foot directly over the pedal axle, same as when I am
bicycling. But lately I have taken to riding with the ball of my foot just over
the front edge of the pedal, which seems to reduce the chance of reinjury.
It occurs to me that almost every unicyclist I have seen either in person or on
tape does this too, with the sometimes exception of racing.
Perhaps due to the greater & more sudden changes in force involved in
unicycling, this is the proper position to use to avoid injury.
Would the list members describe their chosen foot/pedal position and comment on
this topic? Has anyone here had a similar injury?
Dennis Kathrens