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enis750

New Skates = Groin Strain

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Not sure if this is in the right place or not, MODS please feel free to move it if its not ***

Let me preface this with this first: (and sorry for the long winded post)

I am currently 34 yrs old, 6'1", 205 lbs and very fit (work out 4+ days a week and skate 2-3/week)

Have a background in competitive hockey up to age 17 or so

Quit the game and picked it back up in 2002 or so, played on and off the past 5 years

getting back into it pretty good this season

This season I have been upgrading my gear, as most of it was from the early 2000's - and one major item were new skates

I was previously in Vapor X's and played in them up until this season...simply put they were beat down

Settled on some GRAF Ultra G65 (new old stock)

The boot fits great, super comfy and light - night and day from the old Vapor X's

But since I have been in them, I have been experiencing some decent foot pain and groin pain

I have never had groin issues and don't remember one incident that made it hurt

The skates have been baked a few times, punched out and I have no pressure points that hurt in them

My feet just feel sore or tired all over after being on them for an hour or so

My groin is the same way, feeling strained and leaving me sore a few days after a skate

I am a competitive golfer as well, so I'm familiar w the old saying "its the indian, not the arrow"

so if you simply tell me its me .. I'm old balls ... ill suck it up and get over it

but, is it possible the new boot, holder, steel or combo, is putting me at an angle thats putting strain on my body/groin?

i could be completely nuts too .....

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Oh man, I just got over a groin strain that was with me for about a year. Good luck.

The only thing I can offer is that when I tried Grafs they changed my skating quite a bit and put me more on my inside edge. After a couple of months I couldn't take it anymore and switched to Makos. The difference was immediate and I could easily get on my outside edge again and no longer felt like my feet were leaning inwards. I imagine it all flows uphill so the Grafs may indeed be your problem. You may want to try shimming the holder or Graf custom footbeds.

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Oh man, I just got over a groin strain that was with me for about a year. Good luck.

The only thing I can offer is that when I tried Grafs they changed my skating quite a bit and put me more on my inside edge. After a couple of months I couldn't take it anymore and switched to Makos. The difference was immediate and I could easily get on my outside edge again and no longer felt like my feet were leaning inwards. I imagine it all flows uphill so the Grafs may indeed be your problem. You may want to try shimming the holder or Graf custom footbeds.

so I may not be completely wrong w this yet

ya, this isn't fun at all

I have tried on quite a few other pairs, but I may have to consider spending a few more bux to get a better skate for me

which I have no issues with at this point

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I wouldn't want to imply that more expensive skates are a solution, but I found Grafs put me in a different position than Bauer or Easton did. I'm a little older than you, and I find that stability and alignment changes cause injuries much easier than they used to.

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New skates are usually stiffer in the sole than the ones they replace, that can result in some discomfort along the bottom of the foot and general pain in the foot. Especially if the arch support isn't perfectly aligned for your foot. Different insoles could address that issue. As for the groin trouble, how many times have they been sharpened? A bad edge (not uncommon when skates are sharpened for the first time) can result in muscle pulls and strains. Alternatively, there was speculation that stiffer boots were resulting in the increase in groin and abdominal injuries in the NHL a few years ago. By eliminating ankle flex, different muscle groups were seeing forces that they were not used to seeing. At least that was the theory being circulated at the time.

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I had some groin issues after not skating for a long period. I injured my leg (put a hole in my shin doing box jumps) and I stopped working out for awhile. As a result, I got a lot of pulled groins when I got back into skating (mainly the left leg). My guess was that my muscles tightened up over time and needed a bit of stretching/conditioning.

I hate to assume, but I doubt when you work out that you do very many leg exercises/work outs. Or, more specifically, groin exercises. There's one machine that specifically works the adductors and inguinal ligaments, or if reversed, the tensor fasciae latae and gluteus maximus. Use this machine for a month or so (introduce it every week, twice a week if you want faster results), 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps.

Also, make sure you rest from skating for a bit. I know it's against the competitive nature to rest a pulled muscle, but it helps in the long run (if you continue to skate it on, you're only prolonging the injury/pain).

This machine:

154_1.jpg

Worked for me, but may or may not work for you... but worth a try.

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I wouldn't want to imply that more expensive skates are a solution, but I found Grafs put me in a different position than Bauer or Easton did. I'm a little older than you, and I find that stability and alignment changes cause injuries much easier than they used to.

oh no, I didn't think you were implying that

I failed to mention I had a budget around $350 or so and tried everything on in that range, and these felt best

If i need to spend another $100 to find a different skate, Im ok w that

New skates are usually stiffer in the sole than the ones they replace, that can result in some discomfort along the bottom of the foot and general pain in the foot. Especially if the arch support isn't perfectly aligned for your foot. Different insoles could address that issue. As for the groin trouble, how many times have they been sharpened? A bad edge (not uncommon when skates are sharpened for the first time) can result in muscle pulls and strains. Alternatively, there was speculation that stiffer boots were resulting in the increase in groin and abdominal injuries in the NHL a few years ago. By eliminating ankle flex, different muscle groups were seeing forces that they were not used to seeing. At least that was the theory being circulated at the time.

I have had about 8 skates on these and sharpened twice now

I have yellow super feet in these and have tried them both with and without them, same deal each time

our LHS has that ccm heat board thing where it shows what arch you have and matches up the correct insole to fit it

I had some groin issues after not skating for a long period. I injured my leg (put a hole in my shin doing box jumps) and I stopped working out for awhile. As a result, I got a lot of pulled groins when I got back into skating (mainly the left leg). My guess was that my muscles tightened up over time and needed a bit of stretching/conditioning.

I hate to assume, but I doubt when you work out that you do very many leg exercises/work outs. Or, more specifically, groin exercises. There's one machine that specifically works the adductors and inguinal ligaments, or if reversed, the tensor fasciae latae and gluteus maximus. Use this machine for a month or so (introduce it every week, twice a week if you want faster results), 3-4 sets, 10-12 reps.

Also, make sure you rest from skating for a bit. I know it's against the competitive nature to rest a pulled muscle, but it helps in the long run (if you continue to skate it on, you're only prolonging the injury/pain).

This machine:

Worked for me, but may or may not work for you... but worth a try.

actually work legs quite a bit ... almost every single time I'm in the gym

I don't go to a conventional gym tho, I have been CrossFitting for approx 2.5 years (actually coached for a period of time too)

agree on the rest

I just came off a week rest (our league we play 2-3 times a week for 3 weeks, then have a 3 week lay off)

its not super sore right now, but sore enough I should give it a few more days before I play some pick up again

next league game is in 2 weeks

I may head down to the store I bought the skates at, and try on a few more pairs

feel like i tried on everything on the wall tho!! LOL!

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Maybe redundant but make sure to stretch your groin during your pre game warmup. Personally I do two quick laps then spend most of the 5 minute warm up time stretching my groin back and wrists among other muscles.

http://davidlasnier.com/tag/groin-strain

http://www.clubphysioplus.com/hockey_groin.html

those are great links thanks for that

Im the same as you w regards to warms ups too

Im always the last guy to the pucks in the warm up, spending the first while skating laps and stretching my old bones out

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Took the Graf's back today and exchanged them for some new Vapor X90's

not sure why I didn't do this in the first place, but they just felt common to me (coming off Vapor's in my previous skates)

felt a tad tight on the inside of the foot, but baked them, and they felt better

the guys were really good there, as I probably tried on every pair on the wall in the $200-550 range

also gave me full credit back on the Graf's, as I was still inside 30 days w them .... ZERO complaints here, really awesome crew

gonna give the leg a rest for another week and Ill report back after I take these out for a burn

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I bet that the Graf skates threw you out of alignment with some pronation issues, or the lower cut boot contributed to the issues.

Every single pair of Graf skates I've tried over the years has caused the same issue for me.

Groin strain, foot pain, that "tired" feeling, and the skates usually require a significant shim in an attempt to cure the pronation.

In the end they just never work for me, even after shimming and lifts.

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I bet that the Graf skates threw you out of alignment with some pronation issues, or the lower cut boot contributed to the issues.

Every single pair of Graf skates I've tried over the years has caused the same issue for me.

Groin strain, foot pain, that "tired" feeling, and the skates usually require a significant shim in an attempt to cure the pronation.

In the end they just never work for me, even after shimming and lifts.

As long as the holder is mounted on the centre line of the boot, a skater will pronate in any skate, not just grafs. If pronation is the issue then Grafs are actually one of the better boots out there to fix it easily. Instead of shimming you can move the holder by filing out the mounting holes and repositioning the blade under the foot, a far better solution than shims.

Back on the ice after 17 years, the body has moved on a bit. The OPS is doing gym intensive work but skating is particularly brutal on any hidden groin issues or alignment problems that start to appear as we age. A change to a skate with a profile something closer to what he used to skate in should help. Putting aside any physical issues, it's a case of settling in again and getting all the muscles back up to speed.

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Not sure if this is in the right place or not, MODS please feel free to move it if its not ***

Let me preface this with this first: (and sorry for the long winded post)

I am currently 34 yrs old, 6'1", 205 lbs and very fit (work out 4+ days a week and skate 2-3/week)

Have a background in competitive hockey up to age 17 or so

Quit the game and picked it back up in 2002 or so, played on and off the past 5 years

getting back into it pretty good this season

This season I have been upgrading my gear, as most of it was from the early 2000's - and one major item were new skates

I was previously in Vapor X's and played in them up until this season...simply put they were beat down

Settled on some GRAF Ultra G65 (new old stock)

The boot fits great, super comfy and light - night and day from the old Vapor X's

But since I have been in them, I have been experiencing some decent foot pain and groin pain

I have never had groin issues and don't remember one incident that made it hurt

The skates have been baked a few times, punched out and I have no pressure points that hurt in them

My feet just feel sore or tired all over after being on them for an hour or so

My groin is the same way, feeling strained and leaving me sore a few days after a skate

I am a competitive golfer as well, so I'm familiar w the old saying "its the indian, not the arrow"

so if you simply tell me its me .. I'm old balls ... ill suck it up and get over it

but, is it possible the new boot, holder, steel or combo, is putting me at an angle thats putting strain on my body/groin?

i could be completely nuts too .....

Your situation sounds eerily similar to what happened to me after returning to hockey after a while out.

I'm in decent shape, was on the bike 3 or 4 times a week and played or trained 2 or 3 times a week and never had any unusual injuries in the past, however for the past year or 2 when on the ice I was getting what felt like groin strains on a fairly regular basis regardless of how much I warmed up/stretched etc. Also, I don't know if this has been happening with you but sometimes for a day or two after a game it would feel as if my leg would sometimes give way a bit. I just thought this was down to me getting old (I'm 34 too) and ignored it, however I had a couple of tournaments in the summer and shortly after the second I started having real problems with my hips. Oddly enough I was feeling really good around the second of the tournies, however to cut a long story short, xrays have confirmed that I have cam lesions on both hips and a common symptom of these is pain around the groin. At the moment I can barely walk some days at the moment never mind play however I'll be seeing a specialist regarding this soon so hopefully it'll get sorted.

I hope that this isn't what is happening with you, it is very rare in people of our age, however it may be something you want to get checked out. Note that I wasn't using new skates (still rocking my old tacks) so that factor can be discounted from my case.

Hope you get yourself sorted quickly in any case.

Cheers

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Maybe redundant but make sure to stretch your groin during your pre game warmup. Personally I do two quick laps then spend most of the 5 minute warm up time stretching my groin back and wrists among other muscles.

http://davidlasnier.com/tag/groin-strain

http://www.clubphysioplus.com/hockey_groin.html

There's always two sides to the story:

http://www.mikereinold.com/2013/06/groin-injuries-in-hockey-players.html

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Thanks for the link. It just taught me about "lower crossed syndrome" and how skaters are prone to it. I've been having lower back pain recently after having increased hockey practice time.

I'll be looking into these exercises to bring my pelvis back to a neutral alignment.

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some good links being posted in here, thanks everyone

Small update:

Been a week since my last skate and i got out today

Every day I have been doing some mobility/stretching, twice a day and some ice at night whether I need it or not

Also got out on my new X90's for their maiden voyage

No pain (from the groin area) while skating, and I'm almost pain free tonight - a little bit of tightness, but nothing compared to last week

The Vapor's feel SO MUCH better, just so familiar. Very happy I made the switch back.

Also no hot spots or anything I feel that needs punched out

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