Clothing and padding question from adult newbie

[bayroan]

New to the forum, excited to be here!

I'm a total newbie and an awkward adult to boot. I've trawled through the boards and haven't found answers to what sound like a lot of dumb questions...please bear with me.

1. I've been having knee pain due to hip weakness that makes my knees buckle in, which has taken me off jump practice. I've been thinking of getting those kinesio-tape compression tights from cw-x to see if they can stabilize better, but not sure if they work or if they'll increase my dependence on them. Has anyone used something like that and found it effective?

2. I get horrible bloating and pain in my middle sometimes due to lady pains and I need tights that don't dig in. I do need something compressive to hold up the SkatingSafe ultracrash gel pads in place, but while my underarmour tights work, they still dig in at the waist when I don't want anything touching that area. Does anyone else have this problem and found a solution?

3. Does anyone have gel padding that's thicker than the standard 1/4in akton gel or the 5/8 skatingsafe? I've tried falling on them on my hips and they hurt a lot so I'm thinking of using the 1/2in for the hips and tailbone but they're pretty heavy. I'm wondering if it will be ridiculous to wear them? I'm willing to deal with the extra weight but worried that it might throw off my balance or something if I occasionally go without them due to them weighint more than 2 pounds together.

4. Would it be ok to wear black practice pants to competitions and testing or would that be frowned upon? I really hate the idea of short dresses with a strip of crotch fabric and want to wear something like what the men wear - would there be a place where I can find something like that without spending money at a tailor's? Or if there isn't, would the fit of the men's costume trousers be way off for a small woman?

Thank you so much in advance!!

[princesshockey]

I'm always looking for slightly more modest things to wear for competitions, and if I were in your shoes, I'd simply pick up some black opaque tights instead of nude to wear under a dress.  I'm a big fan of the skating skirt/dress (I get all mine lengthened), particularly if you're doing any spins...just makes the move look so beautiful.   You could probably even throw a skating dress on over a pair of tight fitted leggings if you can't find opaque tights.   It doesn't matter what color your legs are...but the judges do need to see the lines.  So if you're fussing with a top and leggings and pulling them down mid-test..that's not a great look.   I also have a catsuit from Frozen Couture that I was considering wearing for testing.    I would not recommend men's trousers since they're not as fitted as what the other women are wearing and I find that figure skating judges tend to be more traditional and prefer to see traditional stuff.   I do find all that annoying...we're adults..as long as they can see our lines they shouldn't care what we are wearing...but last thing you want is someone judging you with an attitude. 

I can't be of help to the other questions I'm afraid. 

[icepixie]

I haven't used compression tights, but I always skate with braces on both knees and a sacroiliac joint stabilizer belt around my hips.  I thought about those cw-x compression pants you mention when they came out, but it looks like they kind of compress all over rather than acting on the actual joints, which is what I need.  My inclination would be either a knee or hip brace so you get the support where you need it, but your problems may be different from mine (I have lax ligaments that are never going away, so the braces are permanent).  It doesn't sound like those tights would play well with your need to not have a tight waistband, though.

There's a woman at my rink who tests in her usual (tight) black leggings and a club jacket.  The leggings are skating-specific ones that go down over the heel of the boot, but I don't know the brand.  It doesn't seem to have affected her passing the tests.

[Christy]

I have some of those cw-x leggings and I don't find them as effective as knee braces.

Chloe Noel have a 3/4" hip pad that you could try - see https://www.skatingboutique.com/en-ca/hip-protecting-pad-ph0002-chloe-noel.html

For testing I've used plain black leggings from TJ Maxx, and have seen several other adults doing the same. Usually with a nice fitted top as the judges need to see your lines.

[bayroan]

Thank you all for your suggestions and advice!! Definitely taking them all into consideration.

[Leif]

I've had knee pain, from running which is high impact, and today I have had pain in a calf. Sometimes pain in joints can be ameliorated or alleviated by doing exercises that strengthen the muscles around the joints. That then reduces the damage to the joints. That has been the case with my knees. Today I was shown stretching exercises that alleviated the pain in my calf. Sorry if this is obvious to you.

As regards padding, I am a fan of Xion body armour, which is discreet, and does not get sweaty. It is unfortunately rather expensive. It uses d3o armour inserts which are much better than conventional foam and gel padding. They are based around non Newtonian fluids, which means they are normally pliable, but when impacted they harden and absorb the shock. A mix of cornflour and water behaves the same way, but does not make a good pad! Before using Xion pads I was off work with a coccyx injury. Now I just get up and carry on skating. There are other brands using the same ideas. You can buy d3o pads on ebay, and you could create a pocket inside your clothing and then insert the pad.

[Query]

I had knee pain, and saw a PT. Like Leif said, the PT had me work to stretch appropriate muscles - and he had to analyze which muscles had to be stretched. He also had me strengthen various muscles.

I don't know if this will help with knee pain or not - but the PT taught me that maintaining erect posture should mostly be done by tightening the abdominal and to some extent lower back muscles, not just the muscles around the knees. He had me do that while strengthening hamstrings too. Maybe that will help with jumping too.

Unfortunately, unless your insurance pays, PTs cost real money.