Possible Skate Problem?

[#94 3]

Here is my problem:

About a year ago I began to have pain in and around my ankle bone on the inside of my left ankle. I thought it was a padding problem so I remolded the skates, but this did not help at all.

I went and saw a podiatrist. He told me that the problem was probably coming from the fact that my ankle was not properly locked into place while I was skating.

I took this advice, and went to see Jim "Turk" Evers, the Philadelphia Flyers equipment manager, who is a friend of my father's. He took out all of his calipers and made all of the neccessary measurements and told me that I should not have any more problems after I recieve my custom Vapor XXX's. He said the solution to the problem was that I needed a more narrow heel to lock my foot in place.

Well, I spent this whole season on the skates and the pain did not go away.

I went back to the podiatrist and ended up having surgery on my ankle.

Turns out all of my nerves were either ruptured or damaged from the skate rubbing against the area. The doctor removed the nerves and told me to wait awile before I got back on the ice.

Well, I have done my fair share of waiting, and I have been back on the ice.

Problem is, there is still pain...

My question for you guys is, do I need to order skates that have an even narrower heel?

I've been wearing Bauer Vapors for years now and it was only since last year that this problem occured. I had ordered a AA heel before. Should I order a AAA heel now? Should I look at what's around and maybe switch brands all together?

Any help is much appreciated.

Thank you.

[chippa13 1844]

Sounds like no matter what skate you wear you are going to have pain from the damage done. My guess is that even though the pain started a year ago the damage occurred over years. I'm thinking your best bet is either pain medication or freezing the affected area to numb the pain before skating.

[jjtt99 0]

Ouch. That sucks.

If you've already consulted the Philadelphia Flyers equipment manager, it's tough for me to say my opinion is better than his.

Maybe you need more padding? So instead of going with a light-weight skate (i.e. Vapor) perhaps try something that's more plush?

I'm guessing you're willing to sacrifice a few ounces for comfort. If you're a Bauer guy, the Classic Golds have lots of cushion and they are selling for cheap cheap cheap.

Just a thought.

JJ

[whbd18 0]

how much was it for the custom vapor xxx

[Cavs019 710]

Way to be rellevant.....Anyway, I'd look to try something a little bit softer, My D/AAA XXX are hard on my heels/ankle area (I have a similar problem), but the pain is much more bareable in my softer, "plush" as stated earlier G3's. Its also worth noting that my G3's are two days old and my 30s are completely broken in.

[jimmy 194]

try silipos.com and get some mini silicon gel pads. They are kind of like miniture breast implants that you can stick on the inside of the skate. They help relieve pain big time. My customers with pain problems caused by wierd shaped feet/bones have been using them with very good results. It's worth a shot. I think you get 15 for $30 and each lasts about 4 skates.

[shute 4]

ya i had the same problem for a while on top of my foot near the ankle or aka skatebite. I ended getting gel pads as well and it's since fixed the problem but i have to keep on wearing them. I've been using something called bunga pad, which i can keep on wasting and reusing. i'm sure there is some kind of large gel pads for ankles as well. only problem that i found from wearing gel pads was that my skate was kind of lose because of the extra soft padding but it was solved by getting some velcro straps to wrap around the skates. you can get the straps at epuck.com

[#94 3]

Do you guys think if I remold my skates the problem will be no more?

[chippa13 1844]

Nope, I think you're going to need some kind of extra padding on your ankle to protect it.

[#94 3]

The skates were made with double ankle packs...

There's more cushion there than I need. That is not the problem, in my eyes.

I really think it's the heel. I think I may need a narrower heel to lock my foot in there.

I think I'm going to have to go with R-8EAAA L-7.75 EAAA. Then I'll tag on my extra goodies...

[ladystorm3 0]

try silipos.com and get some mini silicon gel pads. They are kind of like miniture breast implants that you can stick on the inside of the skate. They help relieve pain big time. My customers with pain problems caused by wierd shaped feet/bones have been using them with very good results. It's worth a shot. I think you get 15 for $30 and each lasts about 4 skates.

i get a burn type thing on my ankles when i wear my skates, would these pads help?

[NuggyBuggy 0]

Do you guys think if I remold my skates the problem will be no more?

As someone else pointed out, if you have access to the Flyers' equipment manager, there is no better person from whom to seek advice than him. And maybe your podiatrist. You've already had to have major surgery to repair nerve damage, why would you mess around with advice that might not quite be right ?

[#94 3]

I'm trying to get as many opinions as possible, that's all.

[sogaduch 0]

what were you skating in before you got the vapors

[#94 3]

Vapor XX, Vapor 10, Bauer 7000, Micron Mega...

[NuggyBuggy 0]

I'm trying to get as many opinions as possible, that's all.

I understand that, and that's usually a good idea, when all the opinions are equally informed. The problem is, very few opinions will be informed the way your podiatrist's and equipment manager's opinions are. In complicated cases that require indepth knowledge of your problem, one hundred (relatively) uninformed opinions wouldn't be worth one good opinion. Anyways, good luck. It sounds like a nasty problem to have and I wish you the best.

[Eazy_b97 1]

Have your tried a foot sleeeve? We sell them to our customers who tend to buy bigger "on sale" skates that end up causing pain. It's just a piece of elastic cloth that slides over a portion of their foot. In your case it would go around your ankle, adding a bit of volume for you there hopefully locking in your foot a bit better. Most of our customers use them for a year before getting new ones.

[thehighlife 0]

Try the Flexlite12. The padding in the heel really wraps around the foot well. The skate is built so that your heel sits down in the skate well. It is only a little wider thru the forefoot and toebox