 Poster: A snowHead
|
Hi everyone,
I`ve had Achilles Tendon Surgery twice 10+ years ago and I have a scar at the back of my leg. As I had to do the surgery twice, the tissue around the scar is not completely smooth and is not as strong as normal skin.
Skiing always agitated the tissue around the scar, and it usually goes something like pain --> swelling --> more pain --> liquid --> more pain --> wound opens --> more pain
Last year I upgraded to stiffer boots (Salomon S/MAX 120) and this became worse.
The Dr who saw my wound recommended some sort of foam to cover the area that they use for similar trauma, but after trying it I think it did more harm than good - as it was putting more pressure on the sensitive skin and wound.
Now I am thinking that maybe the solution is the opposite - put some padding on the rest of the foot and leave a hole where the scar/wound is, so that all other areas press the boot but not that.
I guess that someone else has had and solved this problem - so here I am trying to not re-invent the wheel
Has anyone found a good solution to this problem?
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
A suggestion that may or may not fall on deaf ears, but have you thought about snowboarding? the boots are much softer, and you will spend at least 50% of your time on your toes and not your heel...
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
A "hole" for the scar sounds a good idea. You can get neoprene pads for shins (my daughter always uses them). They are good at staying in place (high friction). I've googled and can't find anything quite the same - mainly big hefty football ones. |Hers are lightweight, flat, flexible. Can't remember where we bought them. Probably in France.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
Assuming the liners are heat mouldable you could pad the area then have the liners moulded. This will then leave an area of the liner compressed so preventing the pressure. If you do this I would keep the area as small as possible, you can always repeat the process but it's harder to reverse.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
| ukoldschool wrote: |
| A suggestion that may or may not fall on deaf ears, but have you thought about snowboarding? the boots are much softer, and you will spend at least 50% of your time on your toes and not your heel... |
Indeed that wouldbe fun but no will or patience to start from scratch 
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| pam w wrote: |
| A "hole" for the scar sounds a good idea. You can get neoprene pads for shins (my daughter always uses them). They are good at staying in place (high friction). I've googled and can't find anything quite the same - mainly big hefty football ones. |Hers are lightweight, flat, flexible. Can't remember where we bought them. Probably in France. |
Yeah that's what I have been looking for but didn't find anything that fits. Next time I ski I will sort of do my own using thick plasters around the sensitive skin area. Not sure if that would be good enough
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Chris_n wrote: |
| Assuming the liners are heat mouldable you could pad the area then have the liners moulded. This will then leave an area of the liner compressed so preventing the pressure. If you do this I would keep the area as small as possible, you can always repeat the process but it's harder to reverse. |
You are right. That sounds very good. My boots are moldable - both the liner and the shell, and that's probably the best longer-term solution. Hopefully, I ll find a place to do it early in my trip
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
French pharmacies sell stuff to protect shins etc - can't remember what it's called, but they all have it. You could then fashion your own until you can get a boot shop to do something more permanent.
It sounds very painful - hope you get it sorted quickly.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
|
@polpolpol, always difficult without actually seeing the foot and assessing a number of things, but there are a number of things that can be done depending on the assessment
a gel pad will offer some friction/seer protection and may or may not help.... the material is called epitact
it may be possible to excavate the heard heel counter form the liner and put a softer material in its place, open liner surgery
changing the liner to a thermo form liner like palau or intuition and molding a pocket into the liner for the injury site is also a possibility
if there is any compromise in your ankle joint flexibility (which is very likely due to 2 x achillies surgery) then this must be addressed first as the flexing action will exaggerate pressure on the area, a stiffer boot like you have is the correct direction to go if there is a reduction in ROM as it will allow transfer of pressure to the ski easier, but everything needs to be taken into account
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| CEM wrote: |
@polpolpol, always difficult without actually seeing the foot and assessing a number of things, but there are a number of things that can be done depending on the assessment
a gel pad will offer some friction/seer protection and may or may not help.... the material is called epitact
it may be possible to excavate the heard heel counter form the liner and put a softer material in its place, open liner surgery
changing the liner to a thermo form liner like palau or intuition and molding a pocket into the liner for the injury site is also a possibility
if there is any compromise in your ankle joint flexibility (which is very likely due to 2 x achillies surgery) then this must be addressed first as the flexing action will exaggerate pressure on the area, a stiffer boot like you have is the correct direction to go if there is a reduction in ROM as it will allow transfer of pressure to the ski easier, but everything needs to be taken into account |
Thank you very much - very helpful.
There is indeed a minor compromise in my ankle flexibility - but only when fully stretched but you are right - this probably affects how I Ski a lot.
As for the liner/boot modification, I think I`ll take my boots for liner/shell molding when I can, and wear lots of foam/padding on that area, to create a natural cavity there. That alone should make a big difference without it affecting my ski significantly
Thanks again
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
@polpolpol, dense padding on the area during molding should help.... if the shell was thicker i would suggest grinding a channel in the shell but it is a risk with a thin wall shell, simply not enough material to get a good relief without going right through
|
|
|
|
|
|
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
|
Updating this thread in case anyone in the future. I went to a snow fitter in Pila and he did what @CEM reccomended - he grinded the back side of the boot as it was thicker exactly where my tendon wound was.
It's better now, though I cannot be sure if the problem is resolved as my wound is currently full of liquid, so we`ll know next year if problem is truly resolved
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
One possible other option would be to stick a kind of large 'corn plaster' on the outside of your liner, with the hole lining up with your scar. The idea is to spread the pressure on that spot over a wider area, thus taking the pressure off that spot. My partner had a similar problem with a lump from an old injury and a boot fitter did this to his liners, and it's been a perfect fix. To give you an idea, the 'corn plaster' is about the diameter of an apple.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
