metatarsal pad that will fit inside skates

[phoenix]

has anybody found a product to cushion the ball of your foot that will fit inside a snug skate? I've tried the get pads, but they take too much room & make me feel like I'm standing on a walnut!! Made the pain way worse then just going w/ no padding.

Any suggestions appreciated. Any time I have to be in my skates longer than 2 hours, it's becoming a real torture session.

[Sk8Dreams]

The only thing I can think of would be to remove the insole completely and substitute a different insole with extra metatarsal padding.  An interesting note on this, is that I just discovered that I have very bony balls of the feet.  DH has quite a bit of soft tissue padding over the balls of his feet, and I have almost none.  I wonder if this is why I've never been able to tolerate high heels.

[AgnesNitt]

I've tried cutting a cosmetic sponge to shape and slipping it under my insole. It doesn't take much space. I don't use it now.

[phoenix]

AHA!!! I found the magic solution!!

I have a piece of tongue foam (the light gray spongy stuff) that I use to pad my ankle in one spot--a little chunk had ripped off & I had just thrown it in my bag.  I noticed it this morning (facing 3 hours of teaching) & decided to try it. It compresses down to almost nothing, but still pads somehow. I put it under the ball of my foot & put my sock on over it.

Took a bit of getting used to feeling it there, but after awhile I didn't even notice it----AND---

After 3 hours I was NOT in any pain whatsoever!!!!!!

This is so huge & such a relief. I've been feeling like I'm standing on a railroad spike point for weeks.