New Ankle Pain

[russiet]

Just this week I started to encounter a tender spot on one ankle; right foot, inside front ankle. It never bothered me before and I've been wearing these boots since January of 2005.

It does seem to line up withe the lowest inside hook.

I've never used Bunga pads, and just looked into it yesterday. I have no clue which size to buy and reccomendations will be appreciated.

Also...do Bunga pads stay in place OK or do they shift around and become a bother?

Thanks!

Jon

[PreciseIce]

If you want to wear the bunga pads, do wear it over socks/stockings. It helps stable it ...

Other then that, can you roughly describe the kind of pain and placing of it with your level of skating? I'm just trying to see if it's similar to one of my injures with I found out want happened too!

[Team Arthritis]

If you want to wear the bunga pads, do wear it over socks/stockings. It helps stable it ...


hmm my experience is the opposite (using the Silipos pads) you put the jelly part next to the skin because it is designed to stick to skin. You can also refurbish these every 2 weeks by rubbing mineral oil on them and letting them sit overnight. Don't use baby oil as the perfume can give you a rather unpleasant rash.

If you get the kind that is fabric on both sides - these really do slip and might do better over socks.

Also check out the tongue as the sorce of pain, sometimes it starts twisting and eather pinches or doesn't protect some spots that used to be fine.
Lyle

[PreciseIce]

hmm my experience is the opposite (using the Silipos pads) you put the jelly part next to the skin because it is designed to stick to skin.

Interesting ... I wore it for quite a while on the skin & it was alright till training went heavier & longer. it sweat so much that it keeps slipping off the skin. That's why I pull it over socks/stockings ... But that might be that I sweat alot on my ankles?

;)

[Team Arthritis]

interesting! Did it become less sticky or was it always that way? Maybe the oil treatment helps? I also found that storing them with sticky side to sticky side really helped the surface stay pliable.
Lyle

[doubletoe]

hmm my experience is the opposite (using the Silipos pads) you put the jelly part next to the skin because it is designed to stick to skin. You can also refurbish these every 2 weeks by rubbing mineral oil on them and letting them sit overnight. Don't use baby oil as the perfume can give you a rather unpleasant rash.

If you get the kind that is fabric on both sides - these really do slip and might do better over socks.

Also check out the tongue as the sorce of pain, sometimes it starts twisting and eather pinches or doesn't protect some spots that used to be fine.
Lyle

Me, too. I need to wear them under my socks or stockings, not over. I wash them with soap and water from time to time, then put a little baby powder on them once they are dry.

[russiet]

Thank you, I think.

I see the sleeves, but I really don't want to put that much extra bulk in my boots. I was thinking either a disc (2.5 or 4" diameter) or a 4" x 4" square.

http://www.tidewaterice.com/silipos_gel_pads.htm

If they stay put on skin under my thin sock, that's what I'm looking for. I want to redistribute the presure away from the tender spot. It appears as though you can trim them to size.

As to PreciseIce's question..

The front of the inside (medial) ankle on my right (landing) foot.

It feels like there is a cord (tendon) runs over that boney area toward the front. It feels fine in regular shoes, but hurts when I'm in skates and bend deep. If I push on that spot with my finger it feels sore and maybe a little inflamed. The skin is fine.

I skate 5 to 6 times a week for a total time of 6 to 7 hours. I have a lesson once a week and Tuesday's lesson was mostly jumps. Althought it was a little painful before the lesson, it was more painful the day after.

The ankle was a little sore to start, and definetly hurt in the boot the next day (yesterday), so I only skated lightly. I took today off.

Thanks,

Jon

[mikawendy]

It feels like there is a cord (tendon) runs over that boney area toward the front. It feels fine in regular shoes, but hurts when I'm in skates and bend deep. If I push on that spot with my finger it feels sore and maybe a little inflamed. The skin is fine.

There are tendons in the area that you describe--I think flexor hallucis longus and also the tibialis posterior tendon. Do you stretch your calves after you skate? (I wouldn't do this, though, if you're feeling pain.) Also, if you're feeling inflammation after you skate, you could try icing the area (if you stretch, do it before icing, not after).

If you use pads instead of bunga sleeves, if the pads wiggle/move in your skate, you could try holding them in place with very lightweight gauzy stuff. I'm not sure what it's called, but it's way thinner than an ace bandage, is disposable, is usually skin colored, and is somewhat sticky feeling on both sides (but doesn't have adhesive). I've seen sports trainers use it as an underlayer before they apply sports tape to an ankle. Its sticky feeling makes it adhere to itself, and thin pads placed under it would probably tend to move less than under a sock.

[Team Arthritis]

Looking over your description of your pain, it is also possible that you have an accessory navicular bone - kind of like growing a little kneecap over that joint due to the stress. Doesn't make any difference, padding and punching out the boots is still the best treatment
Lyle

[russiet]

After taking a day off, I tried placing a thin (1/8" thick) piece of closed cell foam sheet between the boot & the sock, then laced a little looser.

I didn't feel any pain, so maybe things are under control.

The closed cell foam is a piece of underlayment that is used for free-floating laminate flooring. It conformed nicely, compressing out at pressure points and helping to distribute the load over a larger area. I didn't slip, either.

I used a rectangle about 6" long (vertically oriented) x 3" wide. It stuck out of my boot a little so I could grab and reposition if necessary, but it stayed put.

If you want to try this stuff, call a local flooring contractor and ask him for a few scraps. It's stuff he'd be throwing out, anyway. Ask for the expensive underlayment by Armstrong (or other big name manufacturer). It's sturdy and yet soft & resiliant.

If it works as well as Bunga or Silipos pads (this I don't know) and you bought a roll of this stuff at the home center, you'd have several lifetimes of padding for about $50.00 USD.

Jon