 Poster: A snowHead
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I am 35 years old. I have been skiing since I was 6. About 10 years ago my feet started aching every single time I put on skiboots. I didn't ski for years and years because of this. I have gone through 3 different boots and recently the guy that owns my local ski shop sold me a pair of nordic beasts with a custom insole. He said this should definitely help me. It has not helped me, and honestly, I feel like now my feet start aching quicker. Usually, it was after a few runs, but now it is almost immediately after I put them on. I have a very wide foot, I usually wear a 10 Wide shoe and he said the nordic beast is made for people with wide feet. I love skiing, but at this old age am considering starting snowboarding if I cannot get the help I need.
My son is 3, and yesterday was his first time on skis. I was attempting to teach him but was in such agony I had to take off my boots and put my workboots on in order to properly teach him the basics. It is not my sides, but the bottom of my feet.
I need help. What should I do?
Any guidance is appreciated.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Have the shells had any work whatsover- like a grind or punch to accomodate the width of the foot? If not take them to a proper bootfitter not a general ski store. And you'll need to be specific about what the pain is: cramp, hotspots etc
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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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Sounds like the width to me too. Any decent bootfitter should be able to stretch the boots, then you can see if it helps. Good Luck - I had pain for years but latest boots are damn nearly pain free so there is hope!
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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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it may need a stretch for the width, but with it happening so quickly it is more likey to be either a nerve compression or lack of flexion, the best thing is to get them to a good fitter and let the look at the set up, NY has a few fitters but i don't knopw many of them other than Jeff Rich in Manhatten... have a look on Epicski.com to get a recomendation of the best guy to see in your area
good luck
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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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Have you tried them without the insole ? I ask because I had a pair of moulded footbeds that pressed into nerves in the arch and hurt like blazes.
There have been a few discussion on Snowheads about types of fasciitis. Is it possible that you have had some kind of activity change, new activity or something that is causing this reaction ? If you were okay from 6 to 25 then possibly you have some new element in your life giving you trouble.
When I drove for a living I developed pain on standing because of resting my heels on the floor all the time. I changed my job and was able to stand up in the morning without pain.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Vespadad
I had what sounds similar to you, I'll describe for you to see if you agree. Particularly first skiing of the season, soles of feet really hurting, felt hotter but also muscle fatigue'ish like you couldn't exert any more demands and just wanted to stop? have wide forefoot and high instep, boots pushed out on instep only, footbeds molded all logical fitting seems ok. Convinced no conflict of shell shape to boot shape, let me know if you want me to post how I cured. Also had same feeling with board boots so no cure for me there.
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Have you been to see a Doctor?
Sounds like it might be Morton's neuroma, which is a neuroma which develops on a nerve ending, here is the wiki entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morton%27s_neuroma
It is very painful, but it can be treated in a number of ways, might be worth getting it checked out
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I had exactly the same problem when I started skiing, I would litterally be crying when in the boots, I too have very wide feet with the added hassle of a high instep, anyhow, no matter what boots I put on my feet were in agony, then the pain continued even when I was not in the boots and for over a year after I started skiing my feet were in pain, the issue was a really bad pain in my heels but this did extend to the whole of the foot, this only started after I started skiing
http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Plantar-Fasciitis.htm
I did all the stetching exercises and wore an insole that cussoned your heel, eventually the pain went, then I went skiing again and as soon as the boots were on the pain came back so I got a much bigger pair of boots so that I could actually ski on that holiday
I decided then that I needed to get my own boots but nothing fitted, not one boot would take my very wide foot with stupidly high instep, everyone I tried on gave me pain straight away so I decided to by a boot that was were for men and two sizes bigger, that was the only way I could get my hoof in without there being any pain, I was very concerned about having a boot that was not snug fitting but it has been fine, I have now skiied in my boots 3 times and not had any problems at all, I did have some concerns when it came to responce of the skis but I am not an adventurous skier so being able to hop about and swish is not something that I do
not sure if this is the issue that you have with your feet but it sounds like it
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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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ironically i have the opposite, i have narrow feet and was in so much pain i was screaming as i ripped the boots off my feet at the bottom of the mountain. For me, the fix was a custom insole and a fair amount of 'breaking them in"
my advice on buying boots based on my experience is
. go somewhere with a good fitter (the guy didn't ask me which boots i liked he looked at my feet and we then spent 2 hours trying boots)
. while it may not be practical go to slope inside or out and try them as much as you can, mine felt fine at first but the pain started after a few hours, you don't want to find this out when on holiday.
One other thing i've seen is protruding bones on the sides of your feet, my friend has this and how are you supposed to know everyone doesn't have these, we don't see peoples feet that often. i believe the solution is getting the shells blown out, this is where a good boot fitter will most likely show their true value.
i wish you the best of luck with your boots, i nearly considered going back to snowboarding due to the pain but i would have always wanted to go back to skiing.
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when I bought my first pair of boots they had the custom insoles, it make perfect sense to me why I would need them, anyhow, I spent several days wearing them around the house but they were really painful, I drew around the pressure points of where the boots were rubbing and took a photo of them, then back to the ski shop for them to stretch the boots, it was then that they said that there was no way they could stretch them that much which then lead to the 3 hours in the store trying on every single boot until I came out with the ones that are 2 sizes too big but pain free - what this told me was that the person who I got the first pair of boots from didn't know what the hell they were doing and thankfully there was someone there who had the patients to deal with me and my hobbit like feet (minus the hairs I would like to add)
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| poe wrote: |
| when I bought my first pair of boots they had the custom insoles, it make perfect sense to me why I would need them, anyhow, I spent several days wearing them around the house but they were really painful, I drew around the pressure points of where the boots were rubbing and took a photo of them, then back to the ski shop for them to stretch the boots, it was then that they said that there was no way they could stretch them that much which then lead to the 3 hours in the store trying on every single boot until I came out with the ones that are 2 sizes too big but pain free - what this told me was that the person who I got the first pair of boots from didn't know what the hell they were doing and thankfully there was someone there who had the patients to deal with me and my hobbit like feet (minus the hairs I would like to add) |
This can't be right. Sorry, but it can't.
Nobody has feet that are so wide they have to go up two sizes. You are not in the right boot. The shop did not have a wide enough range.
I have extremely wide feet. As in wider than anybody else I've ever met, and have to buy shoes very carefully to get seriously wide size 10s.
I ended up in Atomic B90s, ideal for my skill level, and after a few minutes in the oven they were wide enough for my feet and no pressure or pain. That said, they are only just wide enough for my feet - if I tighten up the bottom two clips anything more than one finger to close the buckle I get cramps across the front of my foot and things get really painful really quickly. But they fit nicely. From my understanding they're one of the wider boots on the market, and I got lucky they were in the store in my size and on sale, amongst others.
There are incredibly wide boots out there, designed for people like me, and probably you by the sounds of things. You shouldn't need a boot that is two sizes too big - I could understand it based on some of the other boots I've tried (they all seem to be designed for narrow-footed tiny people with small calves and neat little feet that are bang on average on the charts!)
Can you advise what boot you are using now that's 2 sizes too big?
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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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I went to snow and rock and they had loads of boots, I literally tried on every boot and I can assure you I have very wide feet added to that a very high instep, my feet are only 4.5 and I have to take a size 6 shoe just to get my fat feet in
my first boots that I got were solomon ones, I think they were called divine
I then tried on all the boots they including some very expensive ultra wide boot called atomic (over 300 squid from what I recall) or something like that, they were a no go too, I ended up with some men's head ski boots, they were the widest ones there, I suppose having the high instep just adds to the problem as well
at the end of the day, I am happy with my boots, I can get my foot into them, my feet do not hurt at all and they do not get cold either, naturally there is plenty of space in front of my toes but that's all and I can ski in them, which is the main thing as I could not even put some of the other hire boots on without crying in pain
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When I got my boots the fitter looked at my feet/legs first then got out the tape measure/fancy rack to put some numbers behind what he had seen. Turns out I have short, wide feet so ended up in a Atomic B120 boots after trying others which felt 'wrong' in some way, either too long or too short. The fitter did have to go to the stockroom for my boots which were not on display though!
The Atomic B series have 104mm width in the shell which suits my 101mm wide feet. 5 days of skiing later and they are lovely.
As a radical thought you might as well order on line and save the extra you are spending on fitting if you are not getting the fitting service that puts you in a correctly fitting boot.
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You know it makes sense.
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Having had a man from S+R tell me that I have size 6 (UK) feet when I have size 8 and spent an age with him trying to make the things fit I am afraid I walked away found another retailer and put my feet in a pair of boots that were my size and surprisingly all the pain I had been in went away. These were basic boots and after 4 seasons I felt able to try and upgrade and now have new more technical boots that were fitted in resort, not 100% but no where near a pain level that is anything more than a little uncomfortable if I have been working hard.
One day I will find an ideal pair of boots but can sympathise with poe, if they fit and her feet don't hurt then 'fill your boots'. I would also add that when I had planter facisitis wearing my ski boots was the only time I wasn't in pain 
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