Newest issue-pain in knee/hip in one leg while skating

[MCsAngel2]

I recently saw my tech and he moved my wonky left blade back to the center, and gave me a larger wedge to put in my insole. Miracle!! My left foot has *never* been so straight as it is now, I can clearly feel I am skating on the flat. I'm not doing another thing to it.

The problem is, I'm now having significant discomfort in my *right* leg when skating. The first time, it was a sharpish pain in my inside right knee and right hip/backside. Asked my tech to give me a heel lift for the right boot, he gave me 2 thin pieces of leather. After that, I don't have the sharp pain in my knee, but I get tension and then pain up the back of my calf/back of knee, and still having the tension/pain in my hip to the rear. It's very definitely a problem. The last 2 skates I am getting off every 5 minutes to rest. I cannot practice anything, I just skate around waiting to see if I get used to whatever it is and hope the pain will go away. It's been 2 hours since I got off the ice and my leg is still aching.

I think it must be that my left leg is a bit longer than my right (and my left foot is larger than my right which is why I think that), and adding that higher wedge for my pronated left foot means my left leg is even longer now than it was before. The bit of leather my tech added isn't enough (they are thinner than the wedge). I'm guessing my tech doesn't have a proper heel lift (as opposed to a wedge) so I'm looking for one myself.

I'm not quite sure why a shorter leg would have that kind of pain but I can't think what else could be causing it, and I didn't have this pain until he put in the larger wedge. I need to fix this before I permanently screw up my body!

It's rather frustrating, not getting anywhere in weeks, but I'm willing to stick it out as long as I think it should be fixable, and I can improve eventually.

[bayroan]

I get a lot of pains in my knees and I assumed that I had a length imbalance issue too, having grown up playing the piano and using just one foot for the pedal all the time, but my physical therapist confirmed that that's not the issue. I just don't know how to fire the right muscles for some movements and overcompensate with the wrong ones. Added to the fact that I have too much laxity in my joints on one side, which makes my muscles overcompensate in the wrong place and throws my balance off. I'd check with a medical professional for body alignment issues just in case.

[icepixie]

I agree with bayroan.  Skating can bring out a lot of previously unknown biomechanical issues, since you're moving in all new ways in weird footwear.  I hit physical therapy two months after I started.  (And kept coming back for different joints...)

But if you want to try a heel lift, here's one that lets you keep adding layers, up to 4 different heights.  I tried it in my shoes, but while it evened out my hips it immediately made the knee on that side cranky, so I gave it up pretty quickly.  I don't know if it would fit in a skate boot, but you may be able to cut off some of the sides so it fits.

[Query]

One of my legs is a little longer than the other - maybe 1/4" - 1/2", I forget. In fact, 1/2" leg length difference, if I remember right, is pretty normal.

I've wondered if it was because I had a cast on one broken leg for 6 months - or if it was always there.

It is somewhat common in figure skating to compensate by adding extra layers to one of your insoles, not necessarily just in the heels. The thing is, that can perhaps compensate for total length differences, but you may also have different differences in the sections above and below the knee. Boot modification can only go so far.

Bear in mind you may have to re-assess how you balance on one leg, and you still need to try to avoid lateral knee bends. I think that when you stand on one foot, your knee should be horizontally centered on your foot. People worry a lot about lateral knee bends, especially on jump take-offs and landings, where you can easily do yourself damage.

One of the consequences of my leg length difference is that the bottoms of both my feet are laterally tilted - something easy to compensate for in insoles. Before I did that, I had to constantly use a lot of muscle to keep both sides of both feet in uniform contact with the bottoms of my boots, which created major muscle soreness. It also resulted in a poor custom boot fit, because the fitter had me stand with both feet at the same time on impressible foam. The fitter then tried to compensate (badly) by mounting my blades way off-center (he should have modified the insoles instead), which twisted the boots out of shape.

Unfortunately, you can't easily order and replace body parts. Why can't we do that? I'd like to order a brain transplant into a new custom-built body that better meets my needs. While I'm at it, I'd like to order a little extra memory and processing power for the brain.

Until someone comes out with a purpose-built-body catalog, you may have to compensate by modifying insoles, or, equivalently, adding inserts. Play around, and you can make it work.

I wonder if there are serious gymnasts and such who've had surgery to make their bodies more symmetric...

Be glad you aren't a growing child. Growth spurts don't have to be symmetric, and the center of gravity changes too. If I understand correctly, kids often have to modify skating technique after a growth spurt. In addition, they often need new clothing, and, if the foot size changes, new skates, sometimes every few months! Must be expensive. I once bought a barely-used pair of skates that had been used by a growing child. (I'm relatively short.)

[Leif]

I get a lot of pains in my knees and I assumed that I had a length imbalance issue too, having grown up playing the piano and using just one foot for the pedal all the time, but my physical therapist confirmed that that's not the issue. I just don't know how to fire the right muscles for some movements and overcompensate with the wrong ones. Added to the fact that I have too much laxity in my joints on one side, which makes my muscles overcompensate in the wrong place and throws my balance off. I'd check with a medical professional for body alignment issues just in case.

I've had pain in my knees for fifteen years. I've started doing exercises to help with fitness and sciatica, and my knees are now almost normal. Seeing a sports physiotherapist is probably advisable.