 Poster: A snowHead
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Hello-
I have ski boot problems and I was hoping someone could help! Every ski boot I have tried (a lot of them) have given me heel pain right on the very back of my bone. It's extremely painful and makes simple turns on green runs excruciating. I have tried different levels of tightness (and looseness) and it still happens. It only happens on my right foot and I think it's because of my weird heel bone structure. My right heel has a weird bone that juts out and causes problems. The problem is augmented when I wear thicker socks and if I have small/tight boots. The problem lessens when I take a tennis ball and apply strong pressure on the bottom of my foot before I start the day. Is this simply from the boot being too small on my right foot? Because when I get fitted the fitters never seem to take into account any extra length of my right foot. they grab the exact same boot that would snugly fit my LEFT meaning extra pressure would be put on my right heel compared to my left heel. Does this sound any bit logical?
Thanks in advance,
Mike
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Go and see a really good boot fitter!
My pain was in a different place, but cured immediately with a visit to Jo Jo at Nevada in Tignes. I'd been thinking about buying my own boots but after the 2nd swap of hire boots in two days didn't work, went to Jo Jo and saw a real professional in operation. I bought my boots, which he adjusted to suit ('of course you are uncomfortable, your footbed needs adjusting'), and was sent off to use them for 10 hours before he made finer adjustments, and they are a revelation, just so comfortable.
Hubby would have done the same but was injured at the time and decided to look at Snow and Rock for boots when we got back. We had two minutes of their sales spiel..... 'we can't guarantee the fit unless you buy the conformable insoles, it'll be your problem if they don't fit'....and walked out.
We are going to back to Tignes next week and straight to Jo Jo to buy hubby's boots on day 1. We could have gone anywhere for this trip, but chose Tignes largely so we could get his boots from Jo Jo. May be an odd reason for choosing a resort, but I can't tell you what a difference Jo Jo has made to my comfort and confidence when skiing.
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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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I had raging retro calcaneal bursitis caused by pressure on the outside point of the heel bone. Solved by heel blow at Profeet who have the kit. It can also be solved by channels grooved into rear of boot. If this is your diagnosis.
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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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Thanks for the replies everyone! The problem is I'm 17 and my feet are still growing ever so slightly which would make the expensive boots go to waste if my feet grow. Basically I'm asking if there's any "home remedies" to this problem instead of getting boots or modifications to boots?
Thanks,
Mike
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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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Mikeyman17, it's not unusual for people to have one foot half a size bigger than the other. When you get your rental boots fitted why don't you get them to size you for your right foot and then crank up the boot on your smaller left foot?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Mikeyman17, this is a bit of a long shot but it's possible that trigger points in your soleus muscle (one of the calf muscles) might be giving you heel pain.
Have a look at this http://www.squidoo.com/heelpaincauses
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In the short term, compeed gel plasters?
I have a similar-sounding pointy heel bone, doesn't normally hurt but is inconvenient as it noticeably wears through shoes much quicker than normal. Only experienced pain there once skiing and tightening the boots so that it could no longer rub seemed to be enough. That said, am scared it might happen again so am considering sticking some foam around that area on the liner, just to have a buffer before the shell.
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Take liner out of boot, get a lipstick and rub on heel where it hurts, push foot into boot and where the lipstick is smeared on inside of shell attack with file, chisel or anything that will remove the smeared plastic. This should work for rcb.
n.b do not take so much off that you can see daylight through.
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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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Thanks for all the replies! I'll try some of this out when I go out skiing tomorrow!
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Mikeyman17, if you have boots (doesn't have to be expensive ones) then a modification to them is not going to cost a fortune ..think £20-£30 at most to have the shell stretched/ground professionally rather than hacking them to bits... this of course is if that is the problem
there are a number of things which could be going on especially if your feet are still growing (at 17 they will have stopped in the vast majority of people but there may be some changes) the structures around the area will be changing and it sounds most likely (especially as the tennis ball gives some relief) that it is a soft tissue injury/problem
on the boot size thing, depends what the difference between the foot sizes is, a boot fitter can gain a load of space to accommodate the longer foot, if it is simply the shape of the heel bone causing the "apparent" extra length then you do not want to be going up a size as the other foot (and probably this one as well) will swim around with the extra volume
the most important thing is to stabilize the foot so that you limit any excessive motion and then modify the boot to accommodate the shape
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| Quote: |
it sounds most likely (especially as the tennis ball gives some relief) that it is a soft tissue injury/problem
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My OH used to get bad cramping pains under his feet in his (very well fitted) ski boots. He would roll both feet on a special foot roller thing before putting boots on but the root cause was trigger points in his calf muscles, caused by his bad habit of "jiggling his legs". I used to massage his calf muscles - the trigger points were extremely painful and because he kept jiggling it was a chronic problem. But with the massage it was manageable and he was comfortable all day in the boots.
I get a pain in my left heel sometimes, specially getting up in the morning. It is always sorted out by massage of a trigger point in my calf muscle - I use the weight of the leg to press it down on the opposite knee. It's painful but does the trick.
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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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'we can't guarantee the fit unless you buy the conformable insoles, it'll be your problem if they don't fit'....and walked out.
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('of course you are uncomfortable, your footbed needs adjusting'
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The difference?
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Hi Skids!
Slightly off subject ... but I had excruciating pain in my three middle toes on my left foot this year .. new boots last year and I'd worn them for about 7 days in total before this trip.
At every opportunity I loosened off the left boot ... then the right foot toes would take a sulk and kick off with the same problem.
When I got home all six toes were numb.
But I've been waiting for the numbness to subside ... and its been seven weeks now with not much feeling in the toes still.
The boots are Nordica Firearrows with a three buckle arrangement.
This was not a problem of being up against the end of the boot which is my usual problem ... I think I trapped a nerve or perhaps something to do with the blood going around.
Any comments ?
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You know it makes sense.
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palumbex, the difference is that Snow and Rock would not even let my husband try on boots without conformable insoles, and proposed to charge over £50 for them without knowing if they were needed. We didn't like the attitude at all, the 'fitters' all looked as if they were under 20, and when asked why conformable insoles HAD to be bought they just kept parroting that they 'couldn't guarantee the fit' without them.
Jo Jo just adjusted the footbed and made it clear that he expected to see me back on more than one occasion for non-chargeable adjustments as the boots bedded in. Several locals told us that local people often come 30 or 40 miles to get boots from him as he is so good.
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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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| DrLawn wrote: |
Hi Skids!
Slightly off subject ... but I had excruciating pain in my three middle toes on my left foot this year .. new boots last year and I'd worn them for about 7 days in total before this trip.
At every opportunity I loosened off the left boot ... then the right foot toes would take a sulk and kick off with the same problem.
When I got home all six toes were numb.
But I've been waiting for the numbness to subside ... and its been seven weeks now with not much feeling in the toes still.
The boots are Nordica Firearrows with a three buckle arrangement.
This was not a problem of being up against the end of the boot which is my usual problem ... I think I trapped a nerve or perhaps something to do with the blood going around.
Any comments ? |
sounds like it could be (but cannot be confirmed as without a few tests and possibly an ultrasound) a nerve neuroma, can be caused by several things , boot too tight, boot too big allowing your foot to move, lack of support, poor biomechanics or simply just bad luck due to the positioning of the nerves in your foot and the flexibility of the connective tissue in your midfoot
there are a number of things that can be done, but if you have lack of sensation after 7 weeks the first place i would be heading is your GP!
first the boot needs to be assessed for size, shape and volume, then the foot checked to see if this is what is causing the problem, it could be a simple compression over the instep but equally it could be a neuroma, whatever the cause there are steps to go through to ensure it doesn't cause problems in the future
1 determine where the problem is coming from
2 ensure adequate support
3 create spaces for the foot in the boot where required
if the boot is too big (yes more common than anything else) and the foot is sliding forward then the only solution is a smaller boot or lots of temporary fixes to get you through week by week, but these tend to be like putting a band aid on an open head wound.
if it is a nerve neuroma then the treatment normally goes along the lines of supportive insole with metatarsal plug (a small pad designed to separate the metatarsal shafts and take pressure off the nerve sheaf) if this is not enough a course of cortisone injections to help break down the scar tissue, then if that is still not enough approximately 1 in 10 require surgical intervention...there are a number of options for this now form nerve excision to alcohol injections or cryotherapy
hope that helps
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Poster: A snowHead
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DrLawn, the designer of the Firearrow allegedly no longer works for the company!
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