Common foot injuries / annoyances

[jjane45]

For figure skaters, what are common foot injuries and what are the causes?

This is a tough sport, all sorts of foot problems exist even at recreational levels. A friend of mine will get foot surgery soon: a bone is sticking out just below the ankle. Originally I thought it's the Haglund's Deformity, turned out for my friend it's the inside of the foot, not back of the heel. Apparently the main cause was ill-fitting skates plus maybe jumps overuse (toe loop / loop jumps).

I was once whining about Haglund's Deformity on my landing foot, and a young skater calmly told me every skater has it. (Um really?) I also have permanent calluses on the ball of foot and front ankles but guess those are minor annoyances.

What foot issues do you hear about most often from non-elite skaters? Do you think they are more attributed to bad skates, bad technique, bad genes, or plain bad luck?

[sarahspins]

When I was 15 I developed a bursa between my tibia and talus and had to have that surgically removed because it just kept coming back every time we had it drained and as time went on it was SUPER painful.  Around that same time I had a friend with a very large bone spur that had developed in the same area from the same type of problem (left untreated much longer than mine was), and her surgery was much more involved than mine was (I only had two weeks non weight bearing with no other restrictions - she spent 4 months in a walking cast). That's the only skating related foot problem I've really had beyond normal bruises/blisters and it was caused by too stiff and too narrow boots that were not punched properly.  I suffered for over a year because of it.

I think poor fit or the wrong stiffness (too soft OR too stiff) are the root cause of most skating related foot issues... and unfortunately since boots are so (relatively) expensive, a lot of people end up toughing it out rather than cutting their losses and moving on to a new pair that could solve a problem.  I know as a teenager it just wasn't an option to give up on a pair of boots that wasn't working out well.. of course that is a false economy when you factor in the cost of foot surgery compared to $500 for a pair of boots, but it is what it is.

[Query]

::sad The most common injuries are surely to self esteem! Especially for adults.

:bash After that comes the injuries to common sense - but they may be pre-existing conditions.

After that, I bet the most common injuries are minor blisters that occur due to loose boot fit or lacing, or to low socks, along with minor bruises that occur in routine falls.

But many skaters won't call anything an "injury" unless it stops them from skating long-term.

Links on skating injuries - but not light reading:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2370412/pdf/canfamphys00364-0064.pdf
http://scohenlmt.livejournal.com/16343.html
http://usfigureskating.org/Athletes.asp?id=321
http://www.usfsa.org/shell.asp?cat=3&id=3&sid=23566
http://ww2.isu.org/medical/intro.html
http://www.podiatrytoday.com/article/5374
http://www.aapsm.org/pdf/humble-skatinga.pdf

(And my own pages on falling gently, and modifying boots)

[jjane45]

Ankle sprain is a big one, I assume. Especially landing advanced jumps in boots without proper support.

What problems would too stiff boots create?

[Query]

What problems would too stiff boots create?

The most obvious thing is that the top could bite into your legs, or damage your Achilles tendon. But you might stop that by using Silipose gel sleeves or other padding at the top. For dance boots, deeply cut backs should help too.

When my boots didn't fit, stiff boots helped create a lot of pain. Blisters too. Because the boots only touched the top of my feet in two places (at the ankle bones), concentrating all the force there, and they rubbed. If they were less stiff, they would have molded to fit my feet better, as did the boots I used before them.

But I've met people who use very stiff boots without problems.

E.g., a coach who wears stiff hockey boots when teaching figure skating, at the rink I skated at during early summer. Stiff boots let him get away with loose lacing, or no lacing, and he says that makes it easier to stay on the ice all day without foot problems.

E.g., a rink guard who claimed people had a lot more problems with the rink's figure skates, which weren't very stiff, than with their hockey skates, that didn't. But he also said the rink still had a few of the old blue stiff plastic figure skates (which stopped being made 11 or 12 years ago), and he said people had fewer problems with those than with the new softer ones. Also that they lasted longer (the new ones are thrown away every few years at most) - not surprising, since one loosely laced skating session can destroy soft boots, by bending them too much.

And a long time ago, a figure skater I knew fairly well who did a lot of jumps and spins in loose fitting but very stiff boots. He too said good fit made stiff OK.

So it's a good question. Maybe too stiff boots don't need to be a problem? Especially if they are successfully heat molded to fit well, and some sort of top padding or gel is used up top.

Maybe it also depends on the skater.

Anyone?

[Icicle]

I think poor fit or the wrong stiffness (too soft OR too stiff) are the root cause of most skating related foot issues... and unfortunately since boots are so (relatively) expensive, a lot of people end up toughing it out rather than cutting their losses and moving on to a new pair that could solve a problem.  I know as a teenager it just wasn't an option to give up on a pair of boots that wasn't working out well.. of course that is a false economy when you factor in the cost of foot surgery compared to $500 for a pair of boots, but it is what it is.

My case exactly. I developed plantar fasciatis due to a problem with my new boots. What is really weird is that when I skate I feel fine. It's afterwards that my feet hurt like crazy.And the problem started shortly after I got those boots. My feet do feel funny in them: they are kind of caved in, so the toes and the heels are higher then the arches. At the beginning I thought it was normal to feel tired and sore after practice. But when the pain became unbearable, I finally saw a doctor. He gave me insoles for my street shoes and skating boots. The insoles work for my street shoes, but the skating boots are still uncomfortable. I'm going to see the guy who sold me the boots tomorrow, and I hope he'll be able to do something. But it's just as you say: I'm toughing it out. Unfortunately, I don't have my old boots anymore, but they were falling apart anyway. So I don't know what to do.

[sarahspins]

I'm going to see the guy who sold me the boots tomorrow, and I hope he'll be able to do something.

Since your issue is a footbed support issue I'd be pretty confident it can be solved... it may take several tries, but it's an easier thing to fix than most.

You're at least trying to do something.. I think most big problems stem from not doing anything at all until a smaller problem becomes a LOT bigger.

What problems would too stiff boots create?

The list is almost endless... from slow progress because a skater can't get enough knee/ankle bend (remember those work together) from actual injuries, ranging from soft tissue damage all the way up to fractures.

I think stiffness is one of those things that is really subjective.  What I find not stiff enough may be someone else's idea of concrete blocks, even at the same height/weight/skill level.. they could even be unsafe to skate in for some skaters. 

[icedancer]

I thought I would love the stiff boots but have battled them since the day I first skated in them.  Too stiff and you can't bend your knee or ankle...

I miss my old soft boots... sigh, they are now too small for me...

Tying and re-tying the newer stiff boots help but not a lot.  It is a crap-shoot.

[VAsk8r]

I developed a Haglund's deformity, and I know two other skaters at my rink who have one too. Since I don't know many skaters, that seems like a lot.

I too have been having boot issues. I got stiffer and smaller boots, Jackson Premieres, a couple of months ago. I went down a size in length because the guy who fitted me told me my last pair was too big, and the length and stiffness seem fine. But I wonder if I should've gone with a split-width or gone up a width. Whenever I finish skating, the outside and bottoms of my feet hurt terribly. I thought it was cramps (I posted a thread here about it) but I don't think the muscle is cramping. I talked to our resident boot expert in the pro shop about having the skates punched out, but he said punching works for one specific area and he thinks my pain is too widespread for punching to help.

I don't know what to do. I wonder if the pain is caused from having my feet in the exact same position for too long, because it really sets in as soon as I take my feet out of the boots and put them in whatever flat shoes or flip-flops I brought with me.

[sarahspins]

he said punching works for one specific area and he thinks my pain is too widespread for punching to help.

Do they have a boot stretcher?  That can help widen the ball and may ease some of the pain.  If you have them stretched, have them heat molded again too.

it really sets in as soon as I take my feet out of the boots and put them in whatever flat shoes or flip-flops I brought with me.

This could also be a footbed support issue.. since your feet can't really move in the boots you might not notice it as much until they are "free" again.

I know I've posted it before, but I have a pair of premiere's and they aren't stiff enough for me to be comfortable jumping in.. I have a feeling if I skated in them as my only pair of skates I would have broken them down by now (I sold the blades I had put on them, so aside from trying them out a few times they've been sitting for the past 6+ months).  I think I'm going to put some old blades back on mine and use them for teaching though... mostly so I can save my paramounts from getting beaten up.

[Icicle]

I developed a Haglund's deformity, and I know two other skaters at my rink who have one too. Since I don't know many skaters, that seems like a lot.

I too have been having boot issues. I got stiffer and smaller boots, Jackson Premieres, a couple of months ago. I went down a size in length because the guy who fitted me told me my last pair was too big, and the length and stiffness seem fine. But I wonder if I should've gone with a split-width or gone up a width. Whenever I finish skating, the outside and bottoms of my feet hurt terribly. I thought it was cramps (I posted a thread here about it) but I don't think the muscle is cramping. I talked to our resident boot expert in the pro shop about having the skates punched out, but he said punching works for one specific area and he thinks my pain is too widespread for punching to help.

I don't know what to do. I wonder if the pain is caused from having my feet in the exact same position for too long, because it really sets in as soon as I take my feet out of the boots and put them in whatever flat shoes or flip-flops I brought with me.

I have Jackson Premiers too, and my symptoms are similar to yours. After practices, the bottoms of my feet hurt but also the top, not the sides. And my boot are also a size smaller than the old ones. They don't feel tight though, just a little awkward. I think maybe, it's because of the soft cushioning. My old boots didn't have it, and even though I needed doughnuts pats for the bunions, overall they felt good. And here, I got those new, expensive boots, and I've been having problems ever since!

[Query]

I thought I would love the stiff boots but have battled them since the day I first skated in them.  Too stiff and you can't bend your knee or ankle...

I assume you use the boots for ice dance. Ice dance is a special case, cuz we are often encouraged by our coaches to use full range of ankle motion, in all directions - forwards point, backwards flex, and sideways (pronation and supination). I personally expect ice dance boots to provide support, but not to limit motion. I think a high level freestyle boot should limit motion within safe limits.

But there are two common solutions to ankle flexibility: you can (A) have a flexible boot that fully conforms to your foot (a common ice dance boot solution), or you (B) can have extra space in front of and behind the ankle, and let the ankle slide forward and back against the boot (a common freestyle boot solution). Solution B is often used with a gel top or padding on top to avoid blisters.

It's too late for you to easily get solution (B), by leaving extra space in your fit.

But I'm curious. Have you tried leaving the top couple hook pairs unlaced? Maybe that would give you a little of that extra space, and just maybe it would leave room for a thin gel top or equivalent. No guarantees, though. I no longer have stiff boots on which to try it.

I aggressively broke in my poorly fit stiff Klingbeil boots, by a host of techniques. The problem is, the break in eventually led to a break down. My resulting (11 year old) boots are finally comfortable for Dance, but provide little support for even my microscopic jumps. And they won't last much longer.

[jjane45]

I sometimes go to the rink wearing heels, and change back into the heels after skating. So far I had two friends expressing disbelief about that, I can only assume their feet feel really BAD after a skating session...

[VAsk8r]

Do they have a boot stretcher?  That can help widen the ball and may ease some of the pain.  If you have them stretched, have them heat molded again too.

Thanks. I'm going to ask about this and will travel if I can't get it done locally. Today I noticed my right foot doesn't even seem to be completely flat; it's scrunched up. I'm hoping at least a little of that is due to my feet being swollen from 100-degree temperatures outside.

I'm only doing single jumps through lutz and axel exercises, so I'm not worried about the Premieres being unsupportive. In the two months I've been skating in them, they don't look like they've been worn or broken down at all.

[sarahspins]

My current boots (Elite Plus) don't "look" broken down at all... in fact they barely look on the outside like they're even broken in, but if you look at the insides it's a different story (they're beat up inside), and I can definitely feel that there isn't as much lateral support as there used to be.. enough to where it's actually been bothering me enough to get new boots (I've been tying them tighter to compensate).  I've had mine for 2 1/2 years now, and I'll be replacing them as soon as my new blades come in

I went with slightly stiffer boots since I moved up to the Elite Supreme (it was cheaper to order those with one change for the split width than the Elite Plus with two for the split width and different tongue linings, since the Supreme's have tongues similar to the Premiere, so there's no latex foam to deal with).  I was really on the fence with going for 80 or 90, but I went with 90 and I think they'll be fine.

BTW, it's not so much that I don't think the Premieres are supportive enough for jumping, it's more that for me I feel like I'd be breaking them down in a matter of months if I jumped in them like I jump in my current skates.. I've always been very hard on boots  

[phoenix]

I had terrible metatarsalgia in my right foot that kept me out of my skates altogether for about 2 months this winter. I finally found a support that would fit in the skate & put them in all my other shoes too. It's still there, but vastly less & not impeding my ability to wear skates.

I have a temporary issue right now; I have a broken toe, and my whole foot & ankle have swelled up too. I can barely get my skate on & tie it! The skate squeezes the swelling down though & after awhile I can re-tie it tighter.