Is this lace bite?

[Scottish Maple Leaf 0]

Apologies if this has been covered before!

last Xmas I got a new pair of Bauer Vapour X800 skates which were baked for me.  They felt great but after a few months I developed a pain on the front of my ankle in line with where the top of the laces are.  

 

It it got progressively worse until I developed a lump on my foot which was very tender.  I tried inserting a pad from my LHS between the laces and the tongue and it helped a bit but not for long.  Eventually it got to the stage that I could hardly skate as any pressure on the tongue area (as in skating motion) was very painful.  

 

After a summer break the lump went away.  I'm back skating and now trying a carbon fibre insert from a pair of X1's I think between the laces and tongue.  I can still feel the pain though.

 

I previously skated in Supremes and never had an issue and in Vapours before that.  God knows why I'm now getting this?  Is it the fit of the skate ?

 

if anyone has any suggestions I would welcome them.  

Im a referee by the way so plenty of stopping and starting.  If I need a new skate what would other refs suggest?

[vinprun71 61]

It sounds like what you're describing is in fact lace bite. I've experienced this myself and can agree that it's extremely painful and frustrating. The reason you're experiencing this is typically due to boot depth. You didn't experience this in Supreme because that has a mid depth while Vapor is low depth. The best way to resolve your issue is to move to a deeper boot. This is the most expensive resolution but the best. In the meantime, purchase a Bunga Pad to protect the area until you can purchase new skates.

[Larry54 243]

Check out this thread. It might help.

 

[Kgbeast 195]

Unfortunately, you have the sore spot already, so anything you put in between laces and your foot will still cause pain. Pretty much all of these remedies (pads and inserts) are to be used before you develop the problem. Not sure where precisely is your bite. If it is caused by inadequate forward flex which is common in stiff boots you might want to look into lace extenders (http://www.greatsaves.org/skate_lace_extenders.html). As you can see, these are designed to offset the laces forward and create an extra forward flex room for your leg.  You can probably botch something like that yourself out of plywood and see if it helps before buying the properly made once. Alternatively, you can skip lacing all the way up. If boot stiff enough, it should provide adequate support for  you to try and estimate if this could be a fix.   

[stick9 903]

Though nothing will fix a boot that's not deep enough there are a few things you can try.

If you're using waxed laces, get rid of them. Unwaxed laces will give a little and may help. The wider, the better.

Trying lacing over/under. That will give you a tiny bit more depth.

Try skipping eyelets at the point of irratation.

[beerleaguecaptain 999]

Listen to stick9.  Other then the fact that he can't spell he is right!!!

[Vet88 674]

I've dealt with this for many years (and helped a lot of other skaters), narrow heels but a high foot means that unless I go custom there is no modern retail boot that fits me properly. However there are things you can do to address the problem so that you can continue to skate, even if you still have lace bite. 

Lace bite is irritation of the the tendons and or bursae that sit under the tendons, this is caused by lace pressure and the lace pressure comes from too shallow a boot and the tongue starting to break down. Often there is not a lot of inflammation or even direct induced pain (eg pressing on the problem area does not invoke a big pain response) yet put your skates on and you can hardly move because of the pain. You have to remove the pressure from the tendon, if you don't do this the problem will continue and will get worse but how do you do this if you want to continue to skate? Bunga pads, flex inserts, additional tongues and anything else that you insert between the laces and your foot DON'T work if you already have lace bite (or even if you have had lace bite and it has healed but you are still in a boot that is not deep enough). The things that do work are: change your boots so they are deep enough (expensive and still a long time before the lace bite heals), lace extenders like those from greatsaves, eyelet skipping (unless your skates fit you really well and you are a good skater this is hard to do), forsberg pads. Lacing over / under can help if the lace bite is in an early stage AND your depth issue is minor but by the sounds of it you aren't in this situation so I don't suggest it as a fix. If you want to get skating again in the boots you have then this is what you have to do: Make yourself a Forsberg pad, go to a home depot or any suitable store and buy yourself 1/2" pipe insulation. Cut it to shape the front of your foot so it covers an area of around 2" wide and and 1" top and bottom of where the lace bite is. Cut a channel in the middle of it for the tendon to sit in. Tape this over the tendon every time you skate. Send me a pm if you are unsure of how to make this and I'll send you some pics. Now you can start skating again but you have to keep using these until the lace bite completely heals. At the same time buy the greatsaves lace extender (or make your own, again pm me if you want to do this) and fit them. Using them now will help the lace bite to heal and using them ongoing will stop lace bite from reoccurring in any skate you choose to use now or in the future. You may need to use the pad and the extenders together for the long term, it all depends on how the boot fits to your foot. Others have made forsberg pads from old tongues and other material but pipe insulation is cheap and available anywhere. Whatever you use, it has to take the pressure off the tendon to allow it to heal. Lace bite can take ages to come right and generally never goes away, often slight pressure in the area even after a few years can take you right back to square one. If you don't want to use extenders or a forsberg pad then you are going to have to change boots, skip eyelets or give up skating. 

[Kgbeast 195]

This Forsberg  pad seems like the ticket...

[innotastic 12]

vet88 has it on the button. I had serious lace bite problems for years, skipping eyelets and whatnot helps but you truly need your foot to heal properly, and that takes months at least. i used the piping insulation cut into an upside down U for something like 4months so that my foot could heal. after that i put some gel pads on my tongues, the elite hockey ones work fine, and i don't tighten the top eyelet as tight as i used to anymore. 

tendons have much less blood flow compared to muscles, so take much longer to repair themselves. inflammation alone is not an indicator of tissue damage. 

[penguinpelts 7]

I'm going to piggy back on this one because it's similar:

Has anyone ever had lace bite- I don't know what else to call it- on the inside of their feet? Right on the inside in the middle of the foot? I bought some Supreme 170s and the first dozen times wearing them were perfect. Now though, I feel them biting into the side of my feet and afterward it looks just like lace bite.

[Vet88 674]

I suspect it will be a pressure point, for some reason your boots have changed in how they fit on your foot as they break in. Put some lipstick on your foot where it hurts, foot in your boot, lipstick transfers to the boot, get the boot punched in this area (or do it yourself for around $20 in tools). Or is the pressure at sole level or in the middle of the arch? then it might be your footbed causing the problem.

[stick9 903]

Depends where the pain is, could be your foot has settled back into the boot and now your arch is no longer aligned with the arch of the skate. Properly fitted insoles like Superfeet will help.

No, that's no what one would call lace bite.