Achilles Tendonitis and Mid foot Pain

[Garpenlov 0]

First and foremost, I have to say this is a pretty amazing forum. I found the forum last night around 8pm, and was reading topic after topic until about 1:30am. I got up around 8:30 and started reading again while I had breakfast. Great community, great information, no punks or L337 speak (don't know if I spelled that right).

Anyways, I definately need some advice regarding my skate fit and some foot problems I've been having.

I used to wear Bauer 7000 skates size 8EE. I loved those skates! They felt so good, I would just tie the laces to make sure I didn't trip over them. I had no complaints, until I developed a chronic case of achilles tendonitis in both heels. I could only relieve the pain by wearing some inserts - and they pushed my foot up and forward about a 1/4" or so. When I got rid of the Bauers my tendonitis went away.

So I sold the bauers on ebay and bought a pair of CCM Pro Tacks, 7.5D. I tried them at my LHS and fell in love because of the additional material and cushioning around the ankle and heel (no more tendonitis!).

However, the problem is that my instep/arch isn't too pronounced, and so if I tighten the "middle eylets" just a bit too much they can be pretty painful after a little while of skating. I typically leave about 3 1/4 " of gap in my "middle" laces when I tie them. In addition to that, I've noticed (or atleast I believe I noticed) that I'm missing some of the "jump" or "rebound" from my Bauer skates.

Question : If my CCM's have the right length and depth, should I just put up with the arch pain and deal with it (like I have been doing)?

Question : Is there another brand that you would recommend? For example, I've seen Easton Z Air Comp's on sale? How do they compare to Bauer or CCM?

PS - I've tried Graf's and had a similar problem with my instep/arch.

[All Torhs Team 0]

I only wear Buaers, and that foot pain seems to follow me skate to skate. Even when i skate four times a week, it still pops up. I know what your talking about and it does hurt. But i have no clue how to stop it. just posting to add to the --victoms-- anybody have any solutions?

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Garpy (I used to live in Miami back when he played, he was a good guy)

Thanks for the kind words. We try to run a good board over here.

The 7000s were known to cause pain in that region because of how stiff the skates were.

You went from a pretty deep skate to one that is not, and that is probably why you are getting that arch pain.

What I suggest you do is go to a retailer in your area (judging by your IP, you're in the South Florida area, so go to Incredible Ice in Coral Springs) and try on some 8090s. They will fit similarly to your old 7000s but less stiff.

To check the boot depth, take a pen or if they have a blue Bauer ruler gauge, run it across the third eyelet down from the top. The rule should touch both ends of the skates with it barely touching the top of your foot.

PM me or reply to this post if you have any more questions.

[Jason Harris 31]

To check the boot depth, take a pen or if they have a blue Bauer ruler gauge, run it across the third eyelet down from the top. The rule should touch both ends of the skates with it barely touching the top of your foot.

JR, I've seen mention of the "3rd Eyelet Rule" before, but I lost you there.

Are you marking your foot? Is the pen horizontal across the top of the laces? I'm assuming your foot should be in skate, correct? I'm just not visualizing what the "3rd Eyelet" illustrates. How does it show that one skate fits while two other pairs don't?

Thanks.

[Garpenlov 0]

Salming,

Here's a link to the explanation I used when testing my skates:

Eyelet test

All Torhs,

I used to use a sock with a gel pad on the heel that ran up your tendon about 4-5 inches. It was made by a company called Silipos, about $20 for each sock. They last about 6 months if you take care of them after every skate. Still, before the sock helped I had to take a couple weeks off, just stretching and avoiding any heavy activity for the tendonitis to go down. Then, every time I skated I slipped those socks on, and it seemed to help keep the tendonitis from swelling up again. Here's a link for the Silipos socks, but I'm sure you can find a bunch of other places that sell it.

Silipos Sock

JR,

Thanks for the quick reply. Nice sluething too,... Yeah I'm in Ft. Lauderdale. Where in Florida are you? Agreed, Garpenlov was a pretty good guy. He never set the league on fire, but I always thought he was a reliable well rounded player.

I really appreciate the advice. Incredible Ice is about 30 minutes from me, so I'll definately check out the 8090's once hurricane Wilma passes through. Still, if you don't mind, I do have another question. I really like the look of easton skates (my wife swears I'm 31 years old going on 13), do you have any experience with them good or bad? Specifically, I've seen some '03 and '04 Z-Air Comps on closout, do you know how they compare (fit-wise) to the 8090? And lastly, just so I got Plan B, is there an alternative to the 8090?

Thanks again!

[Cavs019 710]

Flexlite 10/12s perhaps? I second the 8090 suggestion.

[Sven 1]

Cool, Ft. Lauderdale.. Where exactly ? Im quite often over there.

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

Garpenlov -

I lived in Miami for 9 years, then moved to Orlando where I ran a store up there for 4 yrs. You're a couple of years older than me so maybe we know the same people.

The Z-Air will be narrower in the heel and will come up higher on the ankle. I say 8090.

[Garpenlov 0]

Thanks again for the advice.

You're right we might know some of the same guys. I've lived in Miami since the 1980's, and got turned on to hockey when Roger Nielson (sp) was coaching the Panthers. I didn't switch to ice though until the late 90's when I moved up Tampa. I skated at Brandon while I lived there, and turned into a Lightning fan watching Zamuner and Tucker, and pinned my hopes on Gratton only to be dissappointed like the rest of Tampa fans were.

Did you play any college club hockey in Orlando? I forgot the name of the main college in Orlando (the knights?), but their club team would play the USF bulls every so often at Brandon.

I've been in Ft. Lauderdale now for about 4 years. One of the local guys I really admire is Jopo. He's a little older than me but you might have played with him, or helped him out at your shop at some point. Have you ever heard of him?

[JR Boucicaut 3805]

John Pochinchuk! Damn, you took me WAY back...I used to play roller with him back in the day...damn good player.

I played college roller in Orlando. UCF is the team you are thinking of.