Strong pain in my feet

[hockeydad3 51]

I need some help!

I´m still having a strong pain in my footsoles when i´m on the ice or in roller-skates. I tried a lot of things (different skates, different insoles, lacing-patterns and so on) but they didn´t work. I´m 52 jears old, 170cm, 95kg, beeing on skates since two and a half years, one season inlinehockey and one season icehockey on the beginner-level. The pain begins after 5-15 min. on the ice during practice and is getting worse every minute. It is so strong that i can´t concentrate on the exercises. When we are playing after the practice with two lines, the pain disappears after two or three shifts, because my feet can rest in the air when i´m sitting on the bench. I have never had this pain before in my live, nor do i have problems beeing off the ice. Even when i´m standing in front of the tv for more than half an hour in my skates on the carpet there is no pain.

Who of you had pain on his footsole and can tell me his solution?

Thanks for your answers. Martin

[Vet88 674]

where in the foot do you get the pain?

[hockeydad3 51]

It´s a burning pain in the whole footsole from mid of the heel to the end of the balls on both feet. So it is not a  plantarfasciitis caused by heel spurs. And the pain is only correlated to wearing a skate on the ice for more than 5 to 15 min.without a break.

[CigarScott 132]

What kind of skate are you wearing and what of foot arch do you have?

[hockeydad3 51]

Graf MCI 5035 6.5R, Bauer Supreme 160 6.5EE, Bauer Nexus 6.5D at the moment. CCM currex , Superfeet carbon pro, Bauer speedplate 2.0 and  orthopedic-custom-insole.

Graf Maxx10 7.0 and Reign Zeus 41 Inline-Skates. Medium arches. The Nexus and the Reign fitting the best of them all. So five skates and different insoles giving me the same problem.

Are my feet not made to be in skates? I love this sport.

[Sniper9 529]

Have you tried the stock insoles?  Sounds possibly like plantar fasciitis?? 

If it's a burning feeling I'm almost thinking it might be neural and not muscular. But I'm just making guesses here. 

[CigarScott 132]

You only feel plantar fasciitis in the heel and if your heel is posted up enough with something like Superfeet, it will typically go away or be real minimal painwise. I have it and a bunch of other foot issues. I had to get customs.

[Vet88 674]

18 hours ago, hockeydad3 said:

I have never had this pain before in my live, nor do i have problems beeing off the ice. Even when i´m standing in front of the tv for more than half an hour in my skates on the carpet there is no pain.

You say you have no problems off ice after a skate, this tends to discount plantar fascitiis. And if you can stand in them for 30 minutes, even though it is stationary, with no pain then fit and arch support seems ok. Has this happened since the very first time you put skates on? If you rest for a few weeks and then go for a skate, is the pain the same?

I don't think anyone here can give you an answer without seeing you, evaluating foot / body structure and gait and possibly seeing how you skate. However we might be able to suggest somethings that might help to narrow the cause of the problem down. What happens if you go for a very GENTLE skate for 30 minutes, no hard pushing, crossovers or turns, just straight line gliding and slow gentle turns (pushing just hard enough to keep moving at a very gentle pace)? And I don't know if you do it but try not to push with the toes, just the mid to heel portion of the blade only with no toe kick.

You may not want to do this but I'd also suggest you try a skate with your laces undone or at least with 2 or 3 eyelets undone. Again, a very gentle skate of straight line gliding. I'd ask this because I would want to see if the fact of lacing your boot up is causing any impaired plantar flexion performance during your stride.

[hockeydad3 51]

Quote

 

I also tried the stock insoles.

Our practice is not very tough and we are standing around waiting to be the next at least for about 40-50% of the time. But if I´m on the ice for a longer time the pain begins. When we are playing with no shifts, happens very seldom if we are not enough players, the pain beginns. When we are playing up to one hour with two lines, duration of shifts between one and two minutes and feet in the air on the bench, the pain vanishes. Last summer it was similar on inline-skates.

When I´m tying my skates quite loose it´s getting better, but up to my weight and skating-level, i need the support of a snug to tight tied skate.

So i think when I´m on the ice my weight is distributed differently in the skate than at home on the carpet. I can´t tell if it is a direct  pressure at the footsole or a compression of the foot with vascular, tissue or neural compression nor can i tell you the exact area of that pressure (somewhere between the heel and the footpads).

So I´m collecting ideas or experiences to try.

Next try is superfeet hockey comfort insole size E instead of the correct size D for the archsupport beeing more towards the toes which could be more anatomical for me.

[Vet88 674]

Yes, your weight distribution on skates at home on the carpet is very different to when you skate on the ice / inline. It's why I asked if you could try with a couple of eyelets dropped, if you are distributing too much weight on the inside edge whilst skating this can stress various muscles / tendons in the sole of the foot. Skating with eyelets dropped will highlight this for you (you will know if your foot is rolling inwards in the skate as you skate along) as well as reducing any potential compression issues. Again, not asking you to skate hard, just a gentle straight line skate and anyone, even beginners, can do this. Do you curl your toes up at all when you skate? Standing around in skates doesn't bother you and once you get to the bench and stop skating the pain eases so I'd be looking at stride mechanics and what is happening to your feet in the boot as you skate, 

[hockeydad3 51]

The superfeet comfort didn´t work. At the moment the superfeet hockeypro ist a little better than the custominsole, but the custominsole gives me a better position in the skate and a definitely better feeling for the ice and a better performance.

Today i went to public skate and i noticed the pain beginning in a line between my footpads and the arch from side to side. Maybe volume-issue, or tied too tight?  I also tryed to skate with two of nine eylets dropped. It was a weird expierence for the beginning, like skating on raw eggs. After some rounds i could find the balance and make some gentle turns and stops. After eight rounds the pain came back. But after i tied my skates with all eylets again my skating was as nimble-footed as never before. So i will add dropping eylets to my practise in the future.

[Vet88 674]

If you think it's a volume issue / tied to tight across the forefoot you can try a 2 lace skate. Get a lace that will go through the first 6 eyelets (from the bottom upwards) and tie it very very loose. Then with a second lace tie the top 3 eyelets nice and snug. This will give you the ankle support you are used to yet you should have very little pressure on the forefoot area and still be able to skate. You can also do the pencil test for volume, this is a general guide to how the skate fits your foot for volume. With your foot in the boot and the tongue pulled out, get a pencil and place it across the eyelets. If your foot is hitting the pencil the volume is marginal. If your foot raises the pencil above the eyelets then the boot is on the small side volume wise. 

After you take your skates off are there any red areas on your foot, these indicate pressure points from the boot? You have custom insoles, was this for flat feet or some other foot issue?

[Left Wing King 50]

I had the same thing in a pair of old Grafs, I got fitted properly (aswell as we can in the UK) and I was put into a pair of Nexus EE, so much better. I'd say a volume issue.

[hockeydad3 51]

22 hours ago, Vet88 said:

If you think it's a volume issue / tied to tight across the forefoot you can try a 2 lace skate. Get a lace that will go through the first 6 eyelets (from the bottom upwards) and tie it very very loose. Then with a second lace tie the top 3 eyelets nice and snug. This will give you the ankle support you are used to yet you should have very little pressure on the forefoot area and still be able to skate. You can also do the pencil test for volume, this is a general guide to how the skate fits your foot for volume. With your foot in the boot and the tongue pulled out, get a pencil and place it across the eyelets. If your foot is hitting the pencil the volume is marginal. If your foot raises the pencil above the eyelets then the boot is on the small side volume wise. 

After you take your skates off are there any red areas on your foot, these indicate pressure points from the boot? You have custom insoles, was this for flat feet or some other foot issue?

There are no red areas but you can see the lines of the tongue and the boot pressed into my feet. The custom insoles have been a try to fix my pain issue. They are special orthopedic hockeyinsoles, thin, hard and fitting perfect into my skates.

The penciltest shows that the middle three eylets are touching and lifting the pencil for about one to two millimeters. In the toe- and anklearea, i have lots of space maybe  five millimeters or more.

My LHS guy told me to tie the first three eylets loose, the middle three eylets tight and the upper three loose again, otherwise the quarterpackage of my skates will crack.

For todays hockey-session (90mins) i was trying nonwaxed laces tying tight-loose-tight. The pain was definitely better, which means that tying tight is one factor for my pain. The other one must be, and feels like weightdistribution on the footsole. But unfortunately on both skates the area of the fith outer eylet bulges out a lttle like a dog-ear, the beginnig of a crack?

I´m in Nexus D, Supreme EE was too wide for me.

My LHS guy wants to put me in True`s. But that´s too heavy for a beginner like me.

[Vet88 674]

On 4/24/2019 at 10:24 AM, hockeydad3 said:

My LHS guy told me to tie the first three eylets loose, the middle three eylets tight and the upper three loose again, otherwise the quarterpackage of my skates will crack.

And you are cranking down on 3 eyelets that are volume tight on you??? Try tying this area loose using the 2 laces method I suggested (or even 3 laces, tight/loose/tight), just to see if a looser tie will help. My call on the info you have supplied is that the skate doesn't quite fit you properly and as you crank extra tight thru the middle they are compressing something in your foot leading to the pain. If this is the case no orthotic in the world is going to help.

As to the cracking, this isn't something I have heard before but possibly it's something from Bauer specifically. Maybe @JR Boucicaut or @Nicholas G or @oldtrainerguy28 or others in the retail game can comment on this but I talked to our LHS (who is the sole Bauer distributor in our country) and they reckon its bs. Bulging because of pressure or poor fit is common, post a pic of your boot with the bulge, again I think it's an incorrect fit.

[hockeydad3 51]

According to the info I could find online, the Nexus is the only skate that has a high volume midfoot and a high instep.

That problem with my midfoot is the same with all skates i tryed. The Nexus has the best fit in the midfoot- and anklearea until now. Though a bit too wide in the forefoot.

I will try the multiple lacing the next time.

[Sniper9 529]

On 4/23/2019 at 3:24 PM, hockeydad3 said:

There are no red areas but you can see the lines of the tongue and the boot pressed into my feet. The custom insoles have been a try to fix my pain issue. They are special orthopedic hockeyinsoles, thin, hard and fitting perfect into my skates.

The penciltest shows that the middle three eylets are touching and lifting the pencil for about one to two millimeters. In the toe- and anklearea, i have lots of space maybe  five millimeters or more.

My LHS guy told me to tie the first three eylets loose, the middle three eylets tight and the upper three loose again, otherwise the quarterpackage of my skates will crack.

For todays hockey-session (90mins) i was trying nonwaxed laces tying tight-loose-tight. The pain was definitely better, which means that tying tight is one factor for my pain. The other one must be, and feels like weightdistribution on the footsole. But unfortunately on both skates the area of the fith outer eylet bulges out a lttle like a dog-ear, the beginnig of a crack?

I´m in Nexus D, Supreme EE was too wide for me.

My LHS guy wants to put me in True`s. But that´s too heavy for a beginner like me.

I don't think the weight of the Trues will have an impact whether you're a beginner or not... Would you rather skate in something lighter which causes constant pain??? Id pick skates that fit and don't cause pain over anything lighter that fits improperly. 

Edited April 25, 2019 by Sniper9

[hockeydad3 51]

Smile

I think that the price is on the heavy side for my budget.

[Left Wing King 50]

Get what you pair, buy a good fitting pair first time round, you won't have to spend on another pair for a while!

[hockeydad3 51]

45 minutes ago, Left Wing King said:

Get what you pair, buy a good fitting pair first time round, you won't have to spend on another pair for a while!

Show me the begiiner who knows how a good fitting skate should feel like, and who will buy custom skates.

The typical parameters are ok, and my problem shows up only after breaking in when the pain doesn´t vanish

Who knows a skate with more volume/higher instep than nexus N2900?

Edited April 25, 2019 by hockeydad3

[Vet88 674]

6 hours ago, hockeydad3 said:

Who knows a skate with more volume/higher instep than nexus N2900?

Unless you go custom or you can find a pair of high volume grafs, Nexus is it. And if you add in a narrowish heel then you are like a small percentage of us, sool. However you can address the volume issue various ways, a common fix is to use eyelet extenders, these increase the wrap of the boot.

[Sniper9 529]

15 hours ago, hockeydad3 said:

Show me the begiiner who knows how a good fitting skate should feel like, and who will buy custom skates.

The typical parameters are ok, and my problem shows up only after breaking in when the pain doesn´t vanish

Who knows a skate with more volume/higher instep than nexus N2900?

A good fitting skate should not hurt and cause you the issues you are experiencing. Is that not enough reason for you?  How much money have you spent going through the different insoles etc. Also as mentioned earlier how many different slates are you going to go through via trial and error before you ultimately realize your foot wasn't made for off the shelf retail skates?  

You came here asking for advice and people are giving you different options. 

[Left Wing King 50]

I'm in Nexus N9000 and they have so much more room than my older skates. Your best bet, like what I did was goto a local established shop and get measured, then find what boots fit in that size range.

The guy measured my feet and instantly said Nexus range. 

[hockeydad3 51]

I'm lucky having a normal heel.

A local shop has put me into Supreme 6.5EE, beeing too long, too wide and too shallow. I realized that after breaking in.

I tried the two-lacing-method. It's Not a big difference to the unwaxed tight-loose-tight. But i realized that my pain has two components: tying tight and weight distribution on the footsole. Playing with the laces made my pain bearable.

Could it be that the skates will continue to break in? Skated about 25 hours.

 

[stick9 890]

On 4/25/2019 at 12:20 PM, hockeydad3 said:

Show me the begiiner who knows how a good fitting skate should feel like, and who will buy custom skates.

The typical parameters are ok, and my problem shows up only after breaking in when the pain doesn´t vanish

Who knows a skate with more volume/higher instep than nexus N2900?

If you're in pain after baking, you're in the wrong skate. I'd go so far as argue that skates shouldn't hurt right out of the box. Uncomfortable...yes, painful...no.