Ski Boot pain problems (Yet again)

A snowHead

Another boot problem question for the experts if I can.

I have always had a problem with my right foot/boot and it started when I bought my first pair a few years ago. I was quite new to skiing then and did not know
any better , but bought them at a local shop where the guy looked at my feet and pronounced that the boot that would suit me best would be a Tecnica. The fitting really only consisted of
walking around to see if they felt OK, which I presume they did because I bought them.

After the first trip to Tignes, the skis that I had hired knocked off a big chunk off the back ledge and the French hire shop agreed to give me a brand new pair. These were Tecnica Rival X8
Ultrafit.

On subsequent trips the problem was that while my left foot always felt good, my right foot always developed a sharp pain underneath, in the middle where my toes join on to my feet if that makes any sense.
I tried twice in different resorts to get it sorted, once in Sauze where the guy just heated the boot and told me to walk around for half an hour( no cure)
and a shop in Schladming where they actually had the boot overnight and stretched the boot in the toebox area, this did no good either. So for a couple of years, I just put up with the pain until this year when I decided
to get it sorted.

Went to a local E B just before my trip to Soll and went through the whole fitting routine. The first revelation was that my existing boots 27.5 were too big and I should be in a 26.5.Now after the pain I was suffering, I thought,
how can that be, but I went with the fitters advice and bought a pair of Lange Blaster 9's as recommended, in 26.5. I bought the Conformable footbeds and went through the heating process and went home to clomp around in the boots as advised.

So fast forward to Soll and guess what, after a couple of hours the same pain in the same place as usual.

I have to say, that the left boot felt great and I also noticed that my sking was better than usual but after the usual couple of hours, I had to take the right boot off just to get releif. in fact after the first day skiing, I could hardly bear to stand on that foot because of the pain, although it got less as the week went on. My wife had a look at my foot and when she pressed in the same spot in the center, behind my toes I got a sharp pain. The pain does go for a short while when I take the boot off at breaktime but always comes back. I need to sort this out as it is affecting my enjoyment of the holiday.

A friends advice was just to get a bigger pair but I know that is just rubbish because as I said, my left foot is very snug and comfortable.

So any ideas what I can suggest to the fitters when I take E B up on their comfort guarantee.

A snowHead

bernie, my OH has had some pains like that under his foot. He swears by his process of rolling his bare feet on something before he puts boots on. Something like this http://www.amazon.com/WOODEN-rolling-ROLLER-MASSAGER-massager/dp/B0002Y8EIE?tag=amz07b-21
He just does each foot for half a minute or so, before he puts his boots on. also, doesn't do the boots up tight at first.
When he can't find the proper roller he uses whatever comes to hand - an empty beer bottle, sometimes.

I think there's a definite link between the base of your foot and your calf muscles. I found when I was pregnant that exactly the same thing (rolling feet before going to bed) stopped the night cramps I'd had in my calves - it was absolutely foolproof. My OH has very stiff and painful calf muscles too. Massaging and stretching them has helped with the foot pains too - though deep massage on those muscles is quite painful, because of the knots he has. Have your wife give your calf muscles a good pummelling - if you find some especially sore places, that might be doing the damage under the foot. Keep bashing away at them, and stretching afterwards.

So, my message is as you've had the same problem with some very different boots, try finding out if you have any problems in that leg/foot before doing anything to the boot itself.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

sounds very much like boot compression syndrome. A compression of the dorsal nerves of the foot or any other nerve for that matter. You need to check orthotic function. Has the boots foot board (the base of the boot) been flattened or is it all irregular? this will affect orthotic function and could be the root cause.

It all depends on where the compression is as to what they need to do. You can locate the problem by tracking back until you find a part of the foot where the sensation remains.

Check sock volume and type also....

Be carefull though continued and severe impingment of a nreve can cause permant damage and loss of feeling.

Good luck

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Ski4life, I haven't a clue what any of that means.

If by the footboard, you mean the flat plastic bit located under the liner, then as far as I am aware it is as it was when I purchased the boots, 3 weeks ago.

When you refer to the orthotic function, do you mean the working of the Conformable footbed ?
Out of desparation, one day I replaced the right footbed with the one taken out of my supremely comfortable Clarks shoe to see if that would help. It didn't.

As for socks, I first used a thin ski specific sock that I took with me when buying the new boots, then I tried some thicker Aldi ski socks again no difference.

The pain under my foot is always in the same spot, underneath, behind the middle toe on the main part of my foot. To help explain the location, to the right of the ball of my foot which in turn is behind my big toe.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Just been Googling and came up with the term "Metatarsalgia".

This sounds like my problem, but as I said the pain is located in the middle of my foot.

Would cutting a hole in my footbed, located where I get the pain sort this out ?

Experts ?????

You'll need to Register first of course.

I think you need to go and see someone who knows a lot about feet and a lot about ski boots.

Frankly this doesn't sound like a simple fix, and advice on the internet can give you lots of things to try, but seeing a specialist is a good idea and you will probably find the right solution much more quickly.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

bernie, it could be one of many things,

as james has sughgested compression of the nerves on top of the foot or possibly lack of flexion at the ankle which can cause loading on the ball of the foot... DIY boot fitting may work for some but in most cases there is a simple fix that a bootfitter cna achieve in minutes rather then hours of experimentation...... there are times however when hours of experimentation byt he fitter is required

After all it is free

Just a quickie on progress so far.

I took the boots back to the shop but was told that I should first get a diagnosis from a podiatrist and then they can try to sort out my problem
which I suppose is fair enough.

Went to the doctors so he could see my dad, and just happened to ask him if he could recommend a podiatrist, as I thought that as it is a skiing problem
which does not really affect my everyday life, I would gladly pay.

I was pleasantly surprised that after I told him that I thought I had Metatarslgia, he picked up his portable recorder and proceeded to dictate a letter to refer
me to our local NHS podiatry department and see a specialist. Result.

The guy in the shop said that if it is Metatarsalgia they could form a dome in the footbed to relieve the pain, so we shall see.

Heres hoping !

I get this about two or three days of every ski trip, typically from mid-afternoon onwards. It can vary from annoying to excruciating - when it's excruciating it spells the end of skiing for the day. I've always put it down to loss of circulation with the pain being when the blood comes back and the nerve-ending wake up. I've never really worked out whether the solution is to keep my boot done up all day or loosen them on lifts. I've tried and had good and bad results with both regimes.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Hi Higs....Any prolonged numbing should not be ignored it is a clear sign that there is a problem in the boot. Your foot should not be numb any length of time especially once you take the boot off. My suggestion is that you take the boot to a bootfitter who understands anatomy and can locate where the problem lies. There are many things that can be done to irradicate the problem once and for all....good luck

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

snow reports

Higs, if you are in the north west then go have a chat with graham at rivington alpine near bolton

You know it makes sense.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Oddly, the pain I've been experiencing recently in my boots has all but buggered off now!! Just back from a week in Nendaz and the only time I ever got pain (for the first time since buying the boots) was when skiing after it had snowed, which I then realised was because I was leaning back too much, I started leaning forwards and the pain went. Odd, but I don't care, my feet don't hurt anymore!!!

A snowHead

I am just about to post a question in hunt of these boots - they are magic, everyone I know wears them, but finding them for sale is a mare

Nordica Supercharger Ignition

there are other similar superchargers ie the Spark, but they are not as comfy - the ignition are like wearing slippers.

Help!!

Ski Boot pain problems (Yet again)

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