 Poster: A snowHead
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To start, I do have custom molded boot and custom insole. Got approx 2 years ago when I went to a very reputable bootfitter in Berkeley, where I lived at the time. Unfortunately soon after that I moved across the country (Atlanta). No good bootfitters within 200+ miles of me.
I get pain on the outside of both feet after a couple of runs. Pain is in the soft tissue area pic: https://imgur.com/a/pIdNHZL . My arches are present but feet are very flat. Strong pronation.
Heavy carving and bumps seem to hurt them the worst, but it always eventually hurts regardless of what I do. And the pain remains persistent until I take my boots off. Standing in line & sitting on the chairlift both hurt.
Every boot I've ever used has led to pain in this exact area for both feet. I had a previous boot that I got a bunch of "punches" out on the outside, but it didn't help and only gave me less stability as my foot was more likely to slide around.
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Any tips? I assume my next step would be to return to the bootfitter. But I live 2000 miles away now so that's not really possible.
Part of me suspects that weak intrinsic feet muscles might be to blame, but I don't want to bet on that since I'm not an expert.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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My bet is its physical so you need ski specific stretching also working on greater range of motion and a strenght increase in the lower leg chain
If you read Cems past posts (a uk bootfitter) on here he very often mentions the foot contorting or acting wide/twisting in the boot through a lack of flexion in the lower leg chain .
What is certain is when severe footpain via a lack of flexion exists people only blame the equipment and never the person in the boots physically.
Some people only need the calfs stretched/roll the plantar etc
Others that have bad footpain need to stretch and train the Anterior Tibialis which may not be as easy as you think but its very important to skiing .
"Part of me suspects that weak intrinsic feet muscles might be to blame" ...you have partly answered your question so are on the right track .
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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?
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@akvalle26, impossible to say for sure without seeing the foot and the boot BUT, assuming the boot fits the foot in terms of size and shape and the foot is well supported on a properly made footbed AND that every single boot causes you this issue i am going to go with the theory that you have a tightness in your calf muscles which is restricting your ankle joint Range of Motion.... the inability of the foot to dorsiflex will cause an abduction (external rotation) which causes the foot to press on the external side of the shell , punching the boot doesn't solve it , it just allows the foot to abduct more.... if there is a restriction then speak to your boot fitter about a heel lift in your boots, start small (3-4mm)and see if things improve, if you are doing this yourself make sure you put the same lift in each boot or you will be skiing round in circles
all in all it needs to be properly assessed and so few boot fitters actually look at this very important aspect of biomechanics when fitting a boot
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Not a boot fitter or any kind of boot expert, but I went through something similar so thought I'd share.
I had problems with the outside of my feet with my current boots, it turns out the punches were being done too far forward - my foot was pulling back into the heel pocket when flexing and the natural narrowing of the boot shell was 'pinching' the side of my foot exactly where you're pointing to in the photo.
It took a while to figure out because I couldn't replicate the severity of it just flexing the boots in the shop, the forces exerted on the boot (130 ultra xtd, so quite hard shells) when skiing are much higher than anything you can do manually and it made me feel like I imagined it when I got back to the shop.
Punching the boot another 30mm back from where I thought the issue was really made a huge difference. They can still get a bit sore on a full run or when skiing lots of bumps, but before the adjustment I could only go 5-10mins skiing at a time.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@CEM, thank you for the reply!
So I did the knee-facing-wall dorsiflex test and I can get to 5", which sounds like decent flexion. I do very much think you're right about my feet abducting in the boot; looking at my foot mechanics that seems to be what is happening – foot pronating and abducting
Looking more at my boot. I now also suspect my toebox may be small, causing toes to scrunch and that's causing my feet to pronate more. I have a low-volume boot & now recall my bootfitter having trouble because my feet are big but my calves are very small.
For next steps, I unfortunately don't have any bootfitters nearby (Atlanta, GA USA) but I do have a number of Podiatrists & sports podiatrists (not seeing any with ski-specific focus). Do you think going to one of those suffice?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| akvalle26 wrote: |
@CEM, thank you for the reply!
So I did the knee-facing-wall dorsiflex test and I can get to 5", which sounds like decent flexion. I do very much think you're right about my feet abducting in the boot; looking at my foot mechanics that seems to be what is happening – foot pronating and abducting
Looking more at my boot. I now also suspect my toebox may be small, causing toes to scrunch and that's causing my feet to pronate more. I have a low-volume boot & now recall my bootfitter having trouble because my feet are big but my calves are very small.
For next steps, I unfortunately don't have any bootfitters nearby (Atlanta, GA USA) but I do have a number of Podiatrists & sports podiatrists (not seeing any with ski-specific focus). Do you think going to one of those suffice? |
Could these guys not help? They appear to be on the periphery of Atlanta and seem to be a competent retailer with boot fitting equipment which is better than nothing.
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@Thomasski, yeah I'm aware of them, have been in the store before
I'm a bit wary since they're not on any bootfitters list, I think they're more of a retail shop akin to what you'd get at an REI. And it's seeming my needs are more advanced than average. My current boots are my 2nd owned pair, my first being from a similar-style place – which I wasn't happy with
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@akvalle26, i can give you a guy in South Carolina or a complete master in Philadelphia, other than that where are you going skiing? i probably know someone somewhere nearby
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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.
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@CEM, Reason I'm looking local is I won't be skiing again until next year & if I need regular stretching/strengthening I'd like to have time to do it before I'm out on the slopes again
Is the South Carolina one SouthernSki? 3 hours away but I could make it work sometime over summer
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@akvalle26, yes, mike Tambling at Southern ski is a C.Ped and a great boot fitter
3 hours is pretty local for good boot work
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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@CEM, thanks for the help! Just spoke to Mike on the phone & will be planning a trip up there
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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.
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