My feet are going numb during games

[twolinepass 0]

I recently started playing ice hockey again in my mid 20's(played 3 yeas as a kid before I moved to roller) and my skates are causing my feet to go numb. I have gotten them re-baked, tried not tightening the laces as much to no avail. I have about 9 games, 2-3 games of pickup and 3-4 stick and puck sessions in the skates, is it possible that they are still not broken in? They are CCM U+09 if that makes a difference.

[Chadd 916]

My first guess would be that you have a higher arch and tightening your skates is pulling your arch down to the footbed. Try lacing them more loosely

[AfftonDad 88]

I recently started playing ice hockey again in my mid 20's(played 3 yeas as a kid before I moved to roller) and my skates are causing my feet to go numb. I have gotten them re-baked, tried not tightening the laces as much to no avail. I have about 9 games, 2-3 games of pickup and 3-4 stick and puck sessions in the skates, is it possible that they are still not broken in? They are CCM U+09 if that makes a difference.

I agree with Chad. I have the same problem (except I have flat feet). I tie them very loose through the bend forward (after I lace them I rarely ever pull them in that section again) and moderately loose through the top, making sure I have room for forward flex at the very top. If I don't do any of that my feet go numb every time. It's been that way for me since I was a kid. Before I got my CCM Vector Pro's with lace locks, I made sure that I always used waxed laces so that after I got the multi-tightness set right they would be less likely to move as much. I also have had numbness problems when I have tried Bauer's in the past (CCMs used to be a little wider than Bauer's... I don't know if that is still the case) because I have wide feet.

[phonak 0]

I recently started playing ice hockey again in my mid 20's(played 3 yeas as a kid before I moved to roller) and my skates are causing my feet to go numb. I have gotten them re-baked, tried not tightening the laces as much to no avail. I have about 9 games, 2-3 games of pickup and 3-4 stick and puck sessions in the skates, is it possible that they are still not broken in? They are CCM U+09 if that makes a difference.

I've got the same problem in my Eastons, about halfway through the games I can't feel my big toes.

[SolarWind 23]

I've got the same problem in my Eastons, about halfway through the games I can't feel my big toes.

I wonder is the big toe your longest toe?

I had similar issue with Eastons since they don't have the ergo toe cap - instead it's simply round, but my big toe is the longes toe, and was always squeezed through the cup

since switching to Bauers the problem went away since their toe cup conforms to the shape on my feet & the pressure went away.

just a thought...

[shawbro 0]

I had the same problem as well. I was tying my skates to tight near the bottom. I also wear my socks down over my skate tongue and tape my ankles for better support. I was also taping to tight there. Since I loosened my laces a bit and slacked off on the tape at the ankles I've been good. At first I thought I had a circulation problem.

[twolinepass 0]

Thanks for the advice guys, will try a looser skate at tonight's game.

[Ansonwolfe 0]

Have you tried leaving the lace on the bottom part of the foot loose and only tightening in the last three rivets (or past up the arch)? I used to have the same problem with my foot until I figured only tightening the vertical part of the boot was all that was needed.

[eugene8080 0]

I had the same problem when I used a pair of CCM Vectors. I switched to a pair of Eastons and the problem went away. For me, the CCMs did not have enough volume in the forefoot resulting in the tongue pressing down on my blood vessels. The tongue was really stiff on those CCMs and curved in such a way that they were always pushing down over my arch area.

I went to med school, so hopefully this helps a bit here. Refer to the image above. If just your big toe is feeling numb and not your other toes, it may just be the dorsal metatarsal artery supplying your big toe being impeded by the skate tongue over the forefoot. If your entire foot is going numb, the impedance is probably higher up, probably before the where dorsalis pedis artery splits up. You may want to loosen up the laces in there area in that case.

I tried loosening my laces in different spots which helped. Waxed laces help you customize the tightness in different areas. But the problem was never fulled solved, since my feet would aways get numb through the course of a game anyway. Your best bet is to go to a skate shop and try a bunch of skates. Make sure that the tongue isn't pressing too hard over the top of your foot.

Also check out this video from inlinewarehouse:

He goes over the volume of the different brands. He actually says the CCMs have a medium to large volume, and Eastons only have a medium volume.... but I don't know, my problem when away when I went from CCM to Easton. Maybe it's specific to the skate and not the brand alone.

One other thing to consider is your insole. Are you using custom insoles? The stock insoles are usually thin, but custom insoles can sometimes be thicker and therefore take away volume from your skates.

Hope that helps

-Eugene

[twolinepass 0]

Eugene.. thanks for all the info!! I switched to waxed laces and that seems to be helping a bit but I think my skates might be a bit too small and thats not helping at all.

[michael.yue 2]

I had the same problem with my XXXXs but only around the little toe. I just went to my lhs and got them punch out the boot and they've felt great since

[JBarrera 0]

Maybe a pair of Superfeet insoles? I had the same problem prior to getting them. My little toes would go numb, and with the higher instep, it put my foot in a neutral position.

[theflash0000 0]

Maybe a pair of Superfeet insoles? I had the same problem prior to getting them. My little toes would go numb, and with the higher instep, it put my foot in a neutral position.

Interesting. I started having my toes go numb AFTER adding Superfeet (yellow). I'm going to take them out and try the stock Bauer footbeds again--maybe with looser laces on the bottom, too.