 Poster: A snowHead
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I am suffering badly from an inability to bend my knees to any great degree (i.e. a couple of degrees) without my heels lifting off the floor.
I reckon I have an overtight achilles cos when I do those exercises where you face a wall, one foot forward and the other stretched out to the back, I can not bend my knee without the heel lifting.
This is giving me a real backseat problem as to get any bend in the knees I effectively sit down which places all my weight over the back of the ski and then all hell breaks loose! Balance is all to pot too and I end up leaning my upper body forward and sticking my arms out front - which causes the back bottom to go out backwards - I must look a right sight coming down the piste.
I am going to carry on with various stretching and flexing exercises that google has found for me but is there anything else I can with my equipment to help me. Some people have mentioned heel lifts, calf shims and binding shims but will any of these help me? Any suggestions gratefully received.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I don't quite understand the problem, but ...
Everyone focuses on bending their knees, but flexing your ankles is equaly important. If you bend your knees without flexing your ankles, then your upper body (and hence your weight) will move backwards. As you have found, no ammount of bending at the waist will rectify this. Try it at home, bend your knees without flexing your ankles, but have something to hold on to, because you are going to fall over backwards !
It's something instructors see all the time, plenty of knee action, but no ankle flex, so the weight goes back.
Try balancing on the balls of your feet, then move up & down slowly by flexing your ankles & knees, keeping balanced on the balls of your feet.
If you physicaly can't do this, then you should seek medical advice.
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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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jazzhands, Start with lifting the heel in the boot with something to the point if gentle pressure on the instep of your foot, then back off the buckles a tad. 1cm is very common, 15mm occasional, 4cm is the most i've gone but it was a serious medical condition.
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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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jazzhands, how do you manage to walk up stairs without bending your knees (and flexing your ankles)?
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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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rob@rar, the clue is in the username
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Thanks guys, i realise I'm not doing the best job of explaining myself here. I think you are right Alan in that there is very little ankle flex. My brother-in-law skis too and he can virtually sit on his ankles and his feet stay flat on the floor (without him falling over). I end up with my ankles way off the ground on the balls of my feet.
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jazzhands, I have a similar issue but not as bad. Work on getting more flex in my ankles helped plus what SZK said, I have about 10mm extra lift in my boots.
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| Quote: |
Try balancing on the balls of your feet, then move up & down slowly by flexing your ankles & knees, keeping balanced on the balls of your feet.
If you physicaly can't do this, then you should seek medical advice.
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not really sure what this is trying to show??? in an ideal world you should be able to squat down and sit on your calf muscles with your feet flat on the floor, the closer you get the better, but i think seeking medical advice is a bit of overkill
as SMALLZOOKEEPER has said raising he heel inside the boot will help to distribute weight across the whole foot, this "opens up the ankle joint" which allows you to use the range of available motion that you have, lots of calf stretches will help to increase the range of motion (assuming that there is no bony blockage at the ankle, generally caused by previous injury trauma)
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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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jazzhands, do you wear shoes with high heels? If so, that might contribute to the problem.
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| pam w wrote: |
| jazzhands, do you wear shoes with high heels? If so, that might contribute to the problem. |
No, tend to wear flattish shoes and trainers most fo the time.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Can you stand with your feet flat on the floor and get in a tuck position?
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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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| FastMan wrote: |
| Can you stand with your feet flat on the floor and get in a tuck position? |
Not without holding on to something to stop falling over backwards.
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jazzhands, if you do the calf exercises (on CEM's website, two kinds) really attentively, it can make a difference quite quickly.
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You know it makes sense.
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My way is when I'm doing my teeth, morning and evening, with an electric brush which beeps after 2 minutes. That gives time to do 30 seconds on each leg on the two muscles - soleus and gastrocnemium (?sp). And doesn't take any of your time. It's become a reflex with me - any time I stick a toothbrush in my mouth, my leg shoots out backwards.  Do that, plus several more times during the day, holding for a good 30 seconds.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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| pam w wrote: |
| jazzhands, if you do the calf exercises (on CEM's website, two kinds) really attentively, it can make a difference quite quickly. |
Thanks Pam, do you have a link to the website you mention?
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Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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not alone I am the same (although not so bad) heel lifts, and religious stretching after exercise is helping slowly, although oddly/annoyingly more on one leg than the other! aj xx
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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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jazzhands, Unless yours is an aberrant physiology, I think this one calls for the help of a good massage therapist who will also assist with stretching exercises. To give you an idea of how well it can work, I had a major achilles repair that shortened it considerably. I then concentrated more on that leg and it now has better flexibility than the other  that'll teach me. But seriously, if you're that inflexible you need to work with a partner to extend the stretch but you also need to know how to recover from that. Find a sports physiotherapist and work with them.
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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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jazzhands, I agree with Alan McGregor. If I am sitting on a chair my knees are bend!
The most important is to feel your weight on all the length of your feet. If you are concentrated on that, your stance will be perfect ; it's your own stance.
Of course it is ankles, knees and hips bend, it is weight on the shins, on the front of your boots, ... but if you don't feel your right stance you can't change. It should be a real life experience, not only thinking of leaning forward and how much should I lean forward, ...
If you feel your tows pointing up that's because you are sitting to much or leaning backwards to much, ...
Feel if your tows are pointing up before starting a turn
Feel if your tows are pointing up when you are facing down the slope,
Feel if your tows are pointing up at the end of the turn,
Feel your right stance and feel if your legs are more flexible, if all your body is more relaxing.
Is it easy on a gentle run, harder on a red, impossible on a black run and how is it when it's bumpy, ...?
Everyone has his, her, own morphology so there is not one right stance, you are unique and your right stance is unique.
And you'll see if your stance is perfect all the time, you will be stable every time and you'll be much more confident.
Practice well, ski well and have fun.
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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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jazzhands, if you look at CEM's post above, there's his web address right at the bottom (in blue). Well worth a look. But if any problems, you can google calf stretches - just make sure you do both calf muscles (in each leg) - they require different stretches. It's the lower muscle which is most relevant here, but good to stretch both.
And minimise wearing of shoes with heels.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Hurtle, You are knowing, I'm french, very sorry and was a very very bad student at school. Many thanks. So you will be reading now :"If your toes are pointing up" and not tows.
Yes I will be at the EoSB if you still want me and hope my english will be better one day!!!
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snowarea, don't you worry, your English is better than my French! I'm sorry, it was the opportunity to post a silly video of a tow that I couldn't resist!
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