20 minutes of pain

[gregandgail 0]

Sorry if this has been discussed, but none of my searches found my exact problem.

I've been skating for almost 3 months now, and I have a pair of CCM Shock LE skates that fit and feel great. At least they feel great most of the time... For the first 5 minutes everything is fine, then I start getting pain in the bottoms of both feet. The pain intensifies and begins to move up into my shins. After another 10 minutes it's difficult to continue skating. Sometimes I'll go sit down or just glide around without working too hard. Then after another 5 or 10 minutes the pain starts to subside and everything returns to normal. I not only skate pain free for the rest of the session, but my skates feel great. There's no numbness so it's not like I'm just losing feeling. They start to feel as comfortable as my sneakers.

What could be causing this? Shin splints? Blood flow problems? It really stinks when I'm 10 minutes into my learn to skate class and I have to stop because my feet hurt so bad. There's a kid's learn to play class before my class so I can't "warm up" early...

[mug25 2]

It could be how you are tightening your skates. Use this as a good guide for how you should lace up.

http://www.laurastamm.net/Lacing-The-Skates.aspx

[Davetronz 109]

You might also try a pair of insoles, like SuperFeet or anything that supports your arch better.

You could have problems like this if your aches don't have enough support.

There's also a chance that your foot is getting pressure from the sides of your boot, typically around the ball of your foot.

This can cause your foot to "scrunch up" and not sit flat inside the skate, which will lead to a "cramp" of sorts.

The feeling can travel up your calf or your shins, depending on the location.

I'm guessing that the pain stops because the nerves reach a point that they start blocking OR that your skate warms up, widens/changes a bit with use and the problem works itself out until you skate again.

[gregandgail 0]

mug25 -

Thanks for the reply. I normally don't lace the top eyelet because I have trouble bending my knees properly when they're tied up that far. I do tie them snug but not excessively tight. Usually by the time I'm done skating I realize that my skates are actually quite loose. Maybe I am just tying them too tight... It sure doesn't feel like they're too tight when I first start out.

[mug25 2]

mug25 -

Thanks for the reply. I normally don't lace the top eyelet because I have trouble bending my knees properly when they're tied up that far. I do tie them snug but not excessively tight. Usually by the time I'm done skating I realize that my skates are actually quite loose. Maybe I am just tying them too tight... It sure doesn't feel like they're too tight when I first start out.

Like Davetronz said, it could be your insole. To be honest, in every pair of skates I've ever owned whether it be inline or ice, arch pain has always come from me tying the skates too tight in the mid-section. I know the exact pain you're feeling because I sometimes get it still when I rush to get ready I just yank on the laces and tie up, skate then after feeling the pain I immediately loosen up, re-tie and bingo! Pain instantly gone.

Hope this helps.

[gregandgail 0]

I already use yellow superfeet. I have pretty wide and somewhat flat feet, so the superfeet help. Maybe you're right about the skate warming up. Either way, I love the way they feel after 20 minutes or so. Thanks for the suggestions.

[sharks25 9]

I used yellow superfeet and they caused quite a bit of arch pain. Sometimes they don't fit your feet, since the shape doesn't fit everybody.

[Buzz_LightBeer 972]

I have the same feet as you, and CCM's are not the right fit, sounds like you and i have similar problems. I tend towards Supreme's or Flexlites, with either Heel lifts, modified foot beds, or a hell of a lot of arch stretching.

[gregandgail 0]

Before I bought my CCM's I tried on every skate I could... I even drove 3+ hours to Dallas to hit every hockey shop. I was convinced I would need custom skates, but the CCM's felt great right out of the box. Supreme's were not right at all for me, and Flexlites were way too big in the heel. Overall, even with the pain that I'm getting, I extremely happy with my skates. The fact that the pain subsides after a little while and they feel awesome again, makes me think it's more of a lacing issue. I also had pain with the stock footbeds, so I don't think it's the SuperFeet that are causing the problem.

I'm planning on skating again Thursday so I'll try some of the suggestions you guys have posted and I'll let you know how it goes. Thanks to everyone for your help.

[IPv6Freely 2096]

I had the exact same thing. Fine for 5 mins, in deathly pain for 20, and then fine for the rest of the game.

Superfeet Yellow cured that completely.

[gregandgail 0]

So I skated for about an hour on Thursday, and I started off by lacing my skates loose. Too loose. I never really felt comfortable and the pain still came. Once it started I tried to skate through it, but as it got worse I decided to tighten my skates and just deal with it. After it passed I was fine again.

Fast forward to today.... My wife and I skated for almost two hours this afternoon and the pain was nowhere near as bad. I changed (or un-changed) a lot of things. First I replaced the SuperFeet with the stock footbeds and then I replaced my wax laces with the original laces that came with the skates. I also laced them to my "normal" tightness. The other thing I did was not really skate hard for about 15 minutes. My wife is really new to skating so I spent the first 15 or 20 minutes just gliding along next to her as she slowly made her way around the rink. I had to catch her a few times, so it was good that I was there.

The bottom line is that I'm not sure if any one thing is the reason I had very little pain today. I plan on skating again in the next couple days, so I'll start off skating hard and see what happens. I have a feeling the pain will return, but we'll see. Thanks again to everyone for the help.

[mug25 2]

Good to hear you may have solved the problem. Good luck.

[gregandgail 0]

Skated again today. Started fast and had the familiar pain after a few minutes. It wasn't as bad as it has been, but it was there. I guess I'm still searching for the solution...

[Davetronz 109]

Can you post a picture of your skates from the back, tied up normally with you standing in them? Maybe one standing straight, and one with knees bent? Try not to over think this, just stand normally in your skates and get someone to take a picture (or use a timer).

Try to get a pretty low shot that shows from the bottom of the skate blade, up to at least the top of the tendon guard (basically the entire skate).

If we have excluded tightness, pressure points, insoles, foot volume, etc... I am leaning towards an alignment issue, maybe some pronation/supination.

When you say that the bottom of your feet hurt, is there a specific area? Or are you referring to the entire bottom of your foot?

[iceNsteel 0]

Well being new to skating it might just be your feet adjusting to being on ice skates. There really isn't anything out there that is similar to skating, so this is a fundamentally new thing on your feet and legs. I'm also going to have to echo about the lacing. I had a similar probably 6 or 7 years ago, I had a pair of the CCM's with the lace lock. It made me somewhat prone to over tightening the laces which would produce foot pain until I either relaced the skates or the laces had some time to loosen on their own.

[gregandgail 0]

I'll try to get a pic this weekend.

[sharkie 0]

I dont mean to hijack your thread, but I have similar feet and just got ccm u+ 10's. What you described is similar to what is happening to me, I was wondering if the skate was too narrow? Felt good at the store, but after a few minutes on the ice the arch and then eventually the top of my feet begin to hurt, with superfeet in the pain is unbearable. After 30 or so minutes the pain subsides and feels relatively normal, but i do notice that after I'm done the bottom of my feet hurt and i have some knee soreness as well. I have never had this kind of pain in any other skate I have used, and I have had good success with superfeet before. I was lacing these the same way as my old skates, but now i have to go much looser which i dont really like. Very curious to learn what is causing your foot pain, as it may be the same reason for me.

[sharkie 0]

I went to see my podiatrist today for an unrelated issue and asked him about the pain in the new skates. After listening to my experience, he suggested that my feet may not fit the arch shape on the CCM's. With the boot's arch in the wrong place, adding the Superfeet naturally made it worse. Needless to say, I'm changing skates, I just can't deal with the initial pain and the inconvenience it results in. You may want to check with a podiatrist to see if the cause of your foot pain is similar to mine.