Noob post so apologies if this has been brought up before.
I bought a new pair of ski boots from (FWIW) a reputable ski shop in the UK who's boot fitter is certified by the BSBA (for what that's worth!) and were supplied with off the shelf superfeet carbon insoles.
After trying them out for only a few hours in the highlands I was getting a sore inside ankle on one of my feet after one run and afterwards noticed numbness along the top of my foot between the big toe and adjacent toe. Took them back to the shop and had the boot and liner remoulded with a doughnut over the offending ankle. Seemed to make a difference at the time with the pressure relieved.
A few weeks later (with continued numbness in foot) and after a week in the alps I've got what I'd consider extreme discomfort and numbness in one foot and mild symptoms in the other!
I'm pretty sure that the numbness is a result of pressure on the inside ankles when skiing, especially edging, and I think that my inside ankle is being pressed against the shell of the boot. The top of the boots angle outwards so that there's less space between the inside ankle and the shell compared to the outside. There's no rubbing or friction on the ankle.
I do suspect that the boots are perhaps too big and /or I'm using an unsuitable footbed (I can almost get two fingers between my heel and the shell when doing a shell check) and I'm tightening them up to eliminate heel lift, especially as the boots are bedding in and the liners are compressing. The Boot fitter did do a shell check when fitting.
Does anyone know if its possible to address the causes of these symptoms through correct footbeds / boot modifications or is it likely that I've stumped up 300 quid for unsuitable boots!? The shop does have a "boot comfort guarantee" but TBH I think trying to address these issues may be beyond the capacity of the bootfitters at the store as the first modification was simply to re heat mould the shell and liner. Do feel rather peeved at potentially blowing a significant amount of cash on nothing though!
I'm currently waiting to see the GP so that I can get an open referral to a physio/podiatrist who can hopefully give me a diagnosis and hopefully get some proper custom othotic foot bed (I'm not sure if the ski shop I bought the boots from have this capacity).
Thanks all!
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
PedallingSquares wrote:
Noob post so apologies if this has been brought up before.
I bought a new pair of ski boots from (FWIW) a reputable ski shop in the UK who's boot fitter is certified by the BSBA (for what that's worth!) and were supplied with off the shelf superfeet carbon insoles.
After trying them out for only a few hours in the highlands I was getting a sore inside ankle on one of my feet after one run and afterwards noticed numbness along the top of my foot between the big toe and adjacent toe. Took them back to the shop and had the boot and liner remoulded with a doughnut over the offending ankle. Seemed to make a difference at the time with the pressure relieved.
A few weeks later (with continued numbness in foot) and after a week in the alps I've got what I'd consider extreme discomfort and numbness in one foot and mild symptoms in the other!
I'm pretty sure that the numbness is a result of pressure on the inside ankles when skiing, especially edging, and I think that my inside ankle is being pressed against the shell of the boot. The top of the boots angle outwards so that there's less space between the inside ankle and the shell compared to the outside. There's no rubbing or friction on the ankle.
I do suspect that the boots are perhaps too big and /or I'm using an unsuitable footbed (I can almost get two fingers between my heel and the shell when doing a shell check) and I'm tightening them up to eliminate heel lift, especially as the boots are bedding in and the liners are compressing. The Boot fitter did do a shell check when fitting.
Does anyone know if its possible to address the causes of these symptoms through correct footbeds / boot modifications or is it likely that I've stumped up 300 quid for unsuitable boots!? The shop does have a "boot comfort guarantee" but TBH I think trying to address these issues may be beyond the capacity of the bootfitters at the store as the first modification was simply to re heat mould the shell and liner. Do feel rather peeved at potentially blowing a significant amount of cash on nothing though!
I'm currently waiting to see the GP so that I can get an open referral to a physio/podiatrist who can hopefully give me a diagnosis and hopefully get some proper custom othotic foot bed (I'm not sure if the ski shop I bought the boots from have this capacity).
Thanks all!
Im not a boot expert but i think liners only get loser not tighter with use.
You shouldn't have heel lift.
The distribution of the numbness suggests something pressing down on the top of you foot, as you say the buckles may be too tightly done up to compensate for fit.
The boot fitter needs to see you to sort this out.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
100% agree with @Jonathan Bell, it sounds like you have too much space, it may be physical size of the boot (but many people do not want to tolerate tighter toes to get solid heel retention) but is most likely volume of the boot as you tighten to stop movement the areas where the boot touches are getting tighter on your foot, bony prominences are normally the first points of contact so the ankle and the bones of the mid foot above the instep
the correct size, shape and volume of boot with a well made footbed means you don't have to over tighten buckles so you don't get these pressures, this is not to say a boot will not need some modifications to accommodate any lumps /bumps on your feet, unless your feet are very standard with no protruding areas then when you find a boot that fits in one place it probably wont fit everywhere else.
PM me where you are and some boot details and i will see if i know anyone i can recommend close by you
I had this a few years back, and the numbness took several months to resolve. It was due to boots being too big, meaning I had to over-tighten the buckles to compensate. Fwiw, now that I know what a proper fit feels like and I can ski well I'm skiing in boots a full 2 sizes smaller
For anyone interested in foot health, my sports physio has told me that my condition is the result of compression of the superficial nerves around the anterior annular ligament - most likely the result of pressure from the ski boot strap that crosses around my ankle and that part of my foot. May be the case that boots are too big and I'm over tightening to restrict foot movement within the boot. Also, could be compounded by my own anatomy - I have double jointed ankles and frequently (and painfully!) sprain them so I could have excess scar tissue around the anterior annular ligament which may be increasing the pressure over the nerves.
Time will sort out the nerves. Time to write an eBay listing for my ski boots
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
An interesting post.
I'm suffering something similar on a day to day basis. Numbness on the top of the foot from the big toe area. I've no reason to think it's ski boot related but I wonder about other footwear ? That said I'm mostly in loose fitting trainers and my hiking boots are very comfortable.
After all it is free
After all it is free
this is very interesting because i had exactly the same thing. i have a very high instep and pretty thin ankles which meant i needed the strap across my arch quite loose but around my ankle pretty tight. i have tried so many pairs of boots i can't remember but have settled with Head and some foam inserts across my shin which makes the boot less contracting around my ankle. this also pushes the foot part of the boot down less and i can tighten across my arch more normally. its been real trial and error for me. the numbness tasted about four months for me but went completely!
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Good to see this as I don't know whether to go to the doc or ski store.
I've had numbness/tingling for a week now on front of right ankle and top of rt. foot after skiing one day in new Lange boots. (looks like areas 1-3 above but not including the toes and more pronounced from top to inner side of foot) I was comfortable and happy with the boots while skiing, as I had had issues with my foot slipping forward and crushing big toe in previous boots (Nordicas), which were wider. (I have relatively narrow feet and slender ankles/heel) I think I must have done the buckles around my ankle and heel up too tight, as I was used to doing with my Nordicas to prevent slippage. It was a snowy powder day and I did not even loosen my boots at lunch break like I usually do as my feet felt comfortable. The new Langes were very hard to get into and out of, much tighter around ankle and shin, so not sure if I may have damaged nerves or blood vessel getting out of the boot. My question is, should I bother seeing a doc, or just get my boots adjusted to fit my foot perfectly? and should I be wary of even skiing more in these boots this season before the nerves heal, which sounds like it might take months?
Thanks for any advice/comments!
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
After my big toes went numb I stretched the liner out around the toes using a hairdryer and broom handle like this http://youtube.com/v/9IUznkkeoUU. Seems to have worked quite well for me.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Have watched this with interest but I think I will make an appointment to go back and see CEM to get my boots stretched out just a bit across the widest part of my foot! I am not going to start messing about with them myself! See you later in the summer Colin.
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