Skate Pain Question - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

nickerjones · 01-30-2010, 11:39 PM

Ok I have a pair of Easton Skates. I have had them for a year or so and skated on the infrequently. I skated in an 8 or 9 week learn to skate program . It put me at like 3 or 4 hours on the ice a week. I havent skated for 6 mos. Anyway I am skating again and the last 2 times I have had a pain in my right foot along the outside edge. in the middle of foot or so... Anyone have any idea? Is there anything I can do to alleviate this pain? Insoles? anything? I am getting into my first beginners league and I wont be able to last all game if this problem persists.

Berger_4_ · 01-30-2010, 11:49 PM

Not skating for six months will do that to you. You've gotta strengthen your feet for them again...maybe try leaving the lower portion of the boot a little looser than you have them now. The one other thing you could try other than just toughing it out is buying a pair of Superfeet. They made my skates way, way more comfortable. I'll never wear skates without them now.

hockeycop · 01-30-2010, 11:53 PM

Berger is correct. because the pain is on the outside of your foot, it may be possible that your skates are too narrow for your feet. A shop like Professional-Skate can punch them out to alleviate this Try lacing them up a bit looser in the mean time. Insoles may help if loosening the skate doesn't help.

nickerjones · 01-31-2010, 12:32 AM

Ok thanks... I will have them punch er out next time i go... of course that is if my oklahoma rink can do it !

BOSSY · 01-31-2010, 12:51 AM

Too narrow had the same problem... Hurts like a when you take them off and try to walk!

Reaper · 01-31-2010, 12:54 AM

How well is your arch supported in these skates? Pain can result on the outside edge of the foot without adequate arch support due to the outside part of the foot bearing more weight than normal.

TnT~55 · 01-31-2010, 01:20 AM

Probably too narrow, I had the same problem for a number of years. Ended up getting some Eastons with a EE width.

pylon · 01-31-2010, 01:40 AM

Depending on the quality of the skates, you might want to take them to Pro-skate to get them heated, stretched and moulded. If they are mid-line or higher skates its makes a world of difference. If they are your typical Canadian Tire / Sport Chek budget skate, heating can actually wreck them as there is more glue than stitching holding them together.

Every couple years, I buy a new pair of Grafs from them, and when they are done working their magic on them, I swear you could almost wear them without laces they fit so well after.

moncton golden flames · 01-31-2010, 01:57 AM

guys, read his posts. he's in oklahoma, they probably won't have hockey shops that do that kind of thing. if they do great, if they don't, i suggest not tightening your skates as much at first. after your feet get used to it again, tighten them up.

my old skating coach used to tie his skates using only 3 eyelets over the top of his foot. i'm not saying you should be doing this, but after a while you will develop enough strength in your lower leg/ankle area that you will realize a tight skate isn't always the best way to go.

Berger_4_ · 01-31-2010, 02:07 AM

Yeah I hardly tighten the lower portion of the boot at all...be like ol' Ray Scapinello...he didn't even tie his skates. In fact I think he said that he only put laces in his skates because the NHL told him he had to.

Super Nintendo Chalmers · 01-31-2010, 03:44 AM

If I tie my skates tightly in the locker room, I get the same pain you've describe. What I usually do is keep the laces loose and only tie the eyelets above the ankles tightly. Then I skate a few laps, take a few hard cuts and get to the bench to tighten the laces. I can tighten as much as I want and there's no pain. This is the only way that works for me.

Boblobla · 01-31-2010, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reaper

How well is your arch supported in these skates? Pain can result on the outside edge of the foot without adequate arch support due to the outside part of the foot bearing more weight than normal.

1000X this. If the pain is only on one side of your foot it is likely the result of inadequate arch support. If it was on both sides of your feet that would probably be too narrow. The reason for this is when you lace up your skate tightly it can collapse your arch, resulting in the outside of your foot being forced up against the side of your skate.

I sold hockey skates for about 5 years while I was in school. I would recommend some sort of arch support before you punch your skates. Superfeet have done wonders for me in the past, and I would recommend trying that before punching your skates, realizing that isnt the problem and then having to get a new pair.

PM if you have any more questions.

http://www.superfeet.com/activity/hockey.aspx

Table 5 · 01-31-2010, 04:45 PM

I recently just bought some skates (haven't skated in years!) and I had some serious pain skating in them. When I bought them at Pro Hockey Life, they measured my foot as well as heat-molded them in the store, however skating was just a giant pain the in di-, err foot. I figured it was part of the sport and I was just being a big giant Alex Burrows. Then I tried two things.

1) Loosening up the laces....this helped quite a lot. I had always heard that Gretzky likes it tight (which guy doesn't), so I figured mine better be too. Loosening them up to the point where they are barely doing anything seemed to help my foot relax however. They feel much looser in the boot, but it at least doesn't hurt.

2)I was bamboozled into buying $30 insoles at the store (the bright yellow ones) as I was told they would make things more comfortable. Well, after a couple of days skating and my foot hurting, I decided to try taking it out and going with the original insole. HUGE difference....my foot all of a sudden felt comfortable. It wasn't a perfect streamlined fit, but my foot was not screaming out in pain anymore.

Keep in mind that one of your feet might be different in size than the other...so you might need to customize a bit as well in terms of what you do.

PIMking · 01-31-2010, 05:15 PM

Nick, I dont buy and never bought cheap ice skates. I have always had em molded since I can remember. But I ran into the same issue. I have wide feet but they are not fat from the top of the foot to the bottom. What I started to do was use the insoles from my running shoes to help with that. It seemed to help alot. Take out the insole out of the skate and put the insole of your running shoe into it.

another thing that no one said yet is get a set of blade guards like figure skaters so you don't tear up the carpet or hardwood floors, But put on a set of wet socks, tighten the skates down and walk around your house for a hour or so a couple of days a week. they will start to form to your foot.

Skates over time will stretch. You just need to get on the ice more. I know that is probably not going to be easy being in OKC.

We only have one rink down here. Plus I have only played one game in the last 8 months. I'm fat and out of a shape. But once I get some money saved up and get into the pool to get back into shape I will be playing in the adult leagues again.

The sad part being out of shape and gassed when I played in the league down here as a fill in I did pretty well. The hockey talent is just not that great down here.

nickerjones · 01-31-2010, 05:51 PM

Well my skates are I believe the Easton 1500C. I am not sure if this a high to mid end or the cheap Crappy tire skates. I have had foot problems before when I was playing college baseball and had to wear special made heel cups and a couple different orthotics for my flat arches. I am guessing this is the problem. I guess I will just drop the 30 bucks and try the super feet insoles before I try anything like punching or possibly dropping dough on some custom skates.

I really dont wanna drop this extra money. This hockey is expensive. Lucky I already have all my gear and all I will have to buy is a new stick. I have rounded up 15 of my friends, most of us beginners. All but 3 or 4 of us have to buy all the gear and stuff. Couple that with the 4 grand team fee for a summer league and 100 bucks for jerseys and the costs are getting quite high for people who have never played.

I am lucky enough to have a bunch of guys who arent shy to go out and fundraise and sell Espn Magazines and Cookie dough to help offset costs for the team!

Oh and there are 2 rinks in OKC. Both of them have pro shops , albeit not big ones, who can do this stuff I believe. At least I know they baked my brothers skates and mentioned punching if need be when he bought a pair yesterday.

Berger_4_ · 01-31-2010, 10:15 PM

1500C's are a couple years old, but were top of the line when they came out.

Table 5 - I wouldn't say you were bamboozled. Those are the SuperFeet I was talking about and I've found them to really help alleviate any foot pain. They just don't work for you is all.

MJM · 02-01-2010, 10:20 AM

I've had foot pain my entire hockey life (got even worse after I crushed my foot). The cheap fix is to barely tie your skates through the arch of your foot and compensate this through tying them extremely tight higher up. This may not be advisable for you though being a new skater given your ankles are likely weak.

The better fix to buy a pair of Double E width skates. Since I started doing this, pain has been minimal for me.

nickerjones · 02-01-2010, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJM

I've had foot pain my entire hockey life (got even worse after I crushed my foot). The cheap fix is to barely tie your skates through the arch of your foot and compensate this through tying them extremely tight higher up. This may not be advisable for you though being a new skater given your ankles are likely weak.

The better fix to buy a pair of Double E width skates. Since I started doing this, pain has been minimal for me.

but the pain just being in one foot, wouldnt buying ee , make the skate loose on my other foot and cause pain there? I mean the skates dont feel too tight when i put them on the right foot. ( the foot that hurts)

MJM · 02-01-2010, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nickerjones

but the pain just being in one foot, wouldnt buying ee , make the skate loose on my other foot and cause pain there? I mean the skates dont feel too tight when i put them on the right foot. ( the foot that hurts)

I have feet that are different sizes due to my injury. In the skate whose foot wasn't crushed I simply wear a wool sock to compensate for the difference. You could also use an insole in the smaller foot.

You should just first try not tying then middle 4 or 5 laces looser. May do the trick. If available in Oklahama, having your foot molded into the skates may does the trick as well as others have suggested.

Old Yeller · 02-01-2010, 12:32 PM

I'm going to jump in on this thread. It's been a few years since I've been on skates, but every time I try on a pair they feel fine/comfortable, but after skating on them for more than 10 minutes I get intense pain on the bottom of my feet (right in the arch) and I basically become an ankle skater for a few more minutes before having to take them off.

Now to qualify this, in the past I've only gotten cheap skates or rentals so cheap skates is no doubt part of my problem... but I honestly don't know what to look for in skates to fix this problem.

I'd like to buy a decent pair of skates, but I don't want to spend a tonne of money and have the exact same issue.

I guess I don't really know what my problems is (other than arch pain), or what the solution is (ie) what to look for in a skate).