Foot pain

[SusanaO]

I really worked on my FO edges this weekend and my feet hurt a lot. The same happens when I practice forward crossovers. My arch and the outside of my foot start hurting after a while. :cry:
My first coach told me this was normal, basically your feet are not used to having weight placed on the edges instead of more evenly distributed. He said that this would go away after a while. Well, its been 6 months and its still there. Are there any exercises I can do to help with this?

[Dustin]

I would suggest getting some arch supports, that may help you feel better. :)

[SusanaO]

I used to wear a very slim insole in my old boots but my feet still hurt. Plus it hurts on both the arch and the outside of the foot.

[Dustin]

The arch could end up hurting the whole foot, and much more - I had problems with feet and shin splints last year because of my arch.

One thing you could do is put wet socks on and walk around in your skates for a while, that way they could possibly mold to your feet better?:?:

[flippet]

Is it possible that your boots are just a hair too narrow for your foot? It sounds like the kind of pain that I have in my boots, and mine are just a shade too narrow. I've had mine punched out, and it's helped a bit. Perhaps your coach or a fitting pro can take a look and see if that may be the problem.

On the other hand, you could be lacing them too tightly over the arch area--that in itself can cause foot pain in the arch and outside of the foot. Try lacing them looser over the foot, but staying tight right over the ankle bend, and see if that helps some.

[Mrs Redboots]

I had the same problem, and occasionally even now will get horrendous cramp in my feet, especially in the winter. They don't ache like they used, though.

Two tips: firstly, don't lace your boots too tightly across your feet; just pulling the laces until they lie flat is fine. You can pull them tight at the ankle, where they need to be tight, of course.

Secondly, try making sure your boots and/or feet are warm before you put the one inside the other. At this time of year, that's relatively easy, but in cold weather, give your feet a good hard rub before you put them into your boots, and don't leave your boots in a cold place between wearings. One woman I know used to hold hers under the hot-air dryer in the ladies' before putting them on!

[SusanaO]

At first I thought the pain came from lacing them too tight, but I don't think that's it because the pain will go away if I just stop doing the crossovers and just stroke slowly for a while.

I read about some exercises for the feet in a book (I think it was "Figure Skating for Dummies") : scrunching up a towel with your toes or picking up marbles with your toes and putting them in a glass. I guess this is done to exercise the muscles in your feet. I've tried the thing with the towel, but it hasn't helped much and I was just wondering if anybody else did exercises like these.

[flippet]

I haven't, but those are good exercises. I imagine it takes a while doing them before you notice any real results, though. Sometimes when my foot feels crampy, I roll it over either a tennis ball, or one of those small bouncy balls for more specific pressure point release. Helps work out those muscles.

About the cold boots thing....some like 'em warm, but I'm a weirdo who likes 'em cold! 8O I find that if my boots are cold, when I shove my feet in, they make my feet contract just enough that the slight narrowness isn't such a problem. The boot then warms up to mold around my foot. This works most days, but sometimes if the foot won't contract enough, then the cold, HARD boot is still uncomfortable. You win some, you lose some. ;)

[blue111moon]

I didn't find the towel or marble all that helpful- my arches cramped more when I did them than in the skates. My orthopedist recommends rolling a golf ball under the ball of the foot to loosen tight muscles. I put the ball in a copier paper box lid to keep it from rolling away and roll away at work (which is the only place I sit for long periods of time. It's sort of a massage. There's a knobby ball that's a dog toy (sold in Petco) that works pretty well too.

[JDC1]

Well, I've had lots of foot pain, getting worse the more I jump and work on spins and finally went and had a fitting at a different rink, my coaches thought perhaps I needed dual widths. So the guy measured me and I looked like a standard double AA (except my heel moves in my boot quite easily). So we re-measured with me standing and lo and behold and I am 2 sizes, AA and AAA and that's why my feet hurt and move and go numb and my ankles are covered in bruises. So anyway, it might not hurt to go somewhere else if you can and have another fitting to see if you are in the right boots, you may have the right boots but it's worth a try. Now ofcourse I have to spend $400.00 dollars on boots but thankfully I have a birthday coming up.

[garyc254]

My girlfriend has no arches in her feet. I mean totally flat __________. Her skates caused all kinds of cramping in her feet.

We've decided that she needs custom boots with proper orthotics. $$$$$

However, in the interim, since her feet were hurting so severely, we did as her coach suggested. We soaked her skates in a warm bath for 15 minutes. She immediately put them on and wore them for an hour, then set them out to dry completely.

It was a drastic action, but seemed to help somewhat in forming her boot to her feet and gave her some relief.

We're still going to look into customs, though.

[SusanaO]

I used to get this pain in my old boots which were one full size bigger. I thought that it could be due to the size as they were too big and I used to grip with my toes. About 2 months ago I went to the USA on vacation and was finally fitted by a pro. The boots are comfortable enough that I was able to skate a full hour (just stroking and taking it easy) on the first day without any significant pain. They are a bit tight in the bunion area and the lady at the pro shop said I would have to have them punched out (which I am doing as we speak). While I think that will definitely increase my comfort, I don't think that it will help with the crampy pain.

I guess my foot muscles are just not strong enough, because I also get the same pain sometimes when I exercise my calf muscles by raising my heels and standing on my toes. So I guess I'll just try the exercises with the tennis balls or look into orthotics as some of you suggested.

[RoaringSkates]

I'd had a similar problem, and so I talked to my skate pro. He said that it was likely that the metal arch support on the side of my skate was too arched, and needed to be flattened a bit. He did this, and I'm cured! Perhaps the arches of your skates need to be adjusted up or down to better fit your feet? Talk to your skate pro and see if he can help with the fitting adjustment.

[Ultrasuede]

You might want to go to a podiatrist if it's really bad, and find out if you need orthotics. I had severe arch pain, and found out I not only needed orthotics for my skates, but for my regular shoes, too. It was even recommended that I buy a special pair of orthopedic shoes (those ugly black ones with the velcro strap) but I decided I'd just live with the arch supports in my regular shoes. It turns out that I have a natural arch, but my foot joints are so hyperflexible that the arch totally flattens out when I stand up. The skate orthotics have not totally solved my problems, because now my boots are too tight, and I have to get new ones, especially since I need to get the orthotics built up even more. It's helped somewhat already, though.

[wannask8]

Susana, I had this happen to me, too, about a month before I’d started skating this year. It started with heel strike pain and moved into the arches from there, so I figured, plantar fasciitis. A podiatrist agreed and gave me a bunch of stretches, but they focus on stretching the calf, and I am already verrry stretchy there, so I didn’t feel like they helped me a whole lot, but they may help you. They included the common runner’s shin-splint preventative stretch (hands against wall, one leg bent with its foot flat on the floor about 12 inches from the wall, other leg extended straight behind you with the foot flat on the floor); the common stair stretch (stand carefully with toes at edge of a stair and slowly lower heels, then raise yourself back up); and sitting on the floor, legs straight out in front of me, and pulling my toes toward me.

I did these religiously for several weeks and got only intermittent relief. I finally bagged them in favor of a regular course of ibuprofen (also recommended by the M.D.) for a week or two, which seemed to knock out whatever may have been inflamed, and just made sure the shoes I was wearing were supportive or had insoles and/or heel strike pads. I actually felt better skating (and after) because of the great support in my boots.

Good luck with it, and do see someone about it if it persists. Aching feet only make you miserable and throw the rest of your body out of whack.

-- wannask8