looking for help jr skate fit - blisters and accessory navicular

[ozolinsh_27 3]

Sorry to bug you all but I've not bought skates in a few years and looking for some help.

My last pair were a junior Bauer Supreme One95 in size 5. the last few times I've worn them I've developed a nasty blister on my inside right ankle, I've got an accessory navicular bone about an inch forward and lower that protrudes out a bit more prominently than my inside ankle bone. its a relatively small area in comparison but I'm trying to avoid a trip to a podiatrist (Sask is brutal)

Will a slightly wider boot help this relieve some of this pressure? I've tried different socks, re-baking my skates a few times. Nothing is helping.

My LHS is full of young high schoolers fitting skates so I'm a little untrusting of them lol so I come to the wise ones at modsquad :)

[Buzz_LightBeer 969]

A wider boot would be primarily wider in the toe box. What your skates need is a stretching to accommodate the area around that accessory bone. The fact you're wearing a fairly stuff boos compounds the problem.

[laserrobottime 149]

Get a boot that fits your overall width and punch out the navicular. I'm in the same boat and a punch is all that will help and not compromise overall fit

[Vet88 674]

As said before, get the boot punched out in that area. Also ankle gel pads are good to help protect those protruding bits, you can get them online at places like IW or HM or amazon etc.

[ozolinsh_27 3]

Oops I forgot to mention ive gotten it punched out several times but it ends up happening again.

Maybe because my skates are old? Or just a stiff boot combined with age. Lol is there a more forgiving boot to this sort of thing?

[Vet88 674]

I have found that sometimes the punch doesn't stay and over time the boot straightens out again. If you had a decent punch in the area, you should still be able to see it as a bump on the outside of the boot. If you still have a nice pocket there for the accessory navicular bone then I'd look at the fit and stifness of the boot. I wonder if your foot is rolling slightly in it? This movement could be sliding the edge of your bone across the liner of the boot as you skate and this would give you a blister really fast.

You could try making a donut out of closed cell neoprene and tape this over your bone, taking the pressure off the top of the bone.

[ozolinsh_27 3]

Yeah, I used to have that punch sticking out but it has straightened back out again. The skates themselves fit nice and tight to my feet, guess I just keep punching it out. I think my foot is rolling inwards, becuase the blister always rips upwards. I think it'd be pretty tight fit with a gel pad in there.

The search for solutions continue :)

[SeanCornell91 13]

Not saying this is 100% the cause/solution, but from having a pretty good knowledge of foot anatomy, biomechanics, and boot fitting, I'll give it a stab.

First off, everyone has a navicular - it's completely normal. With that said, it's also common to see the navicular drop and move forward/inward (think towards your body's center line) when pressure is applied to your feet whether you're just sitting to standing, walking, or in a skate. This is typically a sign of excessive pronation and will continue to occur unless you can keep your foot from pronating as much (it's a normal foot motion, but sounds like it's happening more than it should). Punching out the boot will create a pocket for the navicular to move into if you want to continue to let your foot move in that way. Another solution would be a pair of Superfeet that will keep your foot from pronating excessively, which will keep the navicular more in it's unweighted position (since it's dropping and moving foward when it's weighted) - I would think if you sat at home in your skates for an hour, you're not getting the blistering...that's the position Superfeet holds your foot in. A pair of Yellows has a 60 day wear guarantee - if it doesn't meet your level of expectation, call the number on the box and they'll help you out with the return, or you can take it to the store where purchased.

[beanhead 22]

First off, everyone has a navicular - it's completely normal.

But not everybody has an accessory navicular. It is present in about 12% of the population.

A good skate punch is the only solution. If the skate is not punched out in the proper area or not punched out enough, you will have issues. Like stated previously, you should be able to see the area punched out from the outside of the skate.

I actually punched mine out myself. I found that you need to punch it out a bit more than you will ultimately need, since the boot will tend to return to its original position. I am wondering if whoever punched your boot out didn't do it far enough.