Okay guys, finally decided to swallow my pride and post a few words of warning:

• Don't wear boots that are too stiff for your level.
• Don't ignore pain in your feet after skating just because it doesn't last more than an hour.
• Overuse injuries are real, and CAN happen to you.
• stardust skies is always right.

I had to learn these things the hard way. Never thought too much about my feet. Blamed the boots, blamed skating technique, blamed about everything, but never bothered looking at my feet really. So when I did after a couple months of painful skating experiences, I've suddenly discovered that I've grown bone spurs on the outsides of my heels. No wonder skating sucks so much.
http://casey.shobe.info/heel_spurs-1.jpeg
http://casey.shobe.info/heel_spurs-2.jpeg
http://my.webmd.com/hw/joint_problems/tp23003.asp

I've been soaking my feet in hot water with salts and soap for like an hour each the last couple days hoping that maybe I was wrong, maybe it's just some big callous that will go away if I treat it nicely. Nope, of course not. No such luck. I have a wonderful nasty condition that will require surgery I don't want and can't afford to correct, and it's my fault.

Well won't be skating much for a looong while, it seems. I'm so down about this.

Take care of your feet, or soon you won't be able to skate at all!

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

I replied to you elsewhere, but I wanted to reiterate that my heels looked much worse than yours and I didn't need surgery - I just needed properly fitting boots. My heels are not as swollen as they used to be but it will take some time. One thing though, I can't find pointe shoes that fit properly now

Ah well - don't bank on surgery just yet. Just get boots that are good for YOU and you should be alright

I am sorry, Casey. I am *never* right when I have to give myself advice, or guess the outcome of a situation for myself. Ever, ever. But usually, on calling out situations (especially bad ones), I actually am 99.9 percent accurate, and I have no idea why. Sometimes I think I am clairvoyant and do not know it. I wish you had proved me wrong, because I'm sick of being right about negative things- I definitely don't derive any pleasure from it, and I am sorry that your boots hurt you.

Meanwhile, my best advice to you would be not to freak out. You caught the problem early. When I was warning you about needing surgery and so on and so forth, it was with people who stick with bad boots for years and years. I really don't think that the amount of time you skated on your boots has created a program so degenerated that you will require surgery. You MIGHT, but I doubt it. It's also about the level of pain you are willing to endure. I have bunions- I will always have them. My orthopedist said I could have surgery to get them removed, and the pain would be gone forever. My left foot's hurts a LOT. Sometimes it shoots all the way up my leg, I can't stand it. But, with this considered, I asked the doctor if he thought it was worth it. He said no, it's not, by the time you are recovered you will have wasted your whole season. Do it when you retire. So I might. And I might not. But most often times, surgeries like bunions or bone spurs are elective, you don't HAVE to do them to continue skating or living your life- you will just deal with daily pain, which, if you go back to skating and progress to doubles and triples, will happen anyways. I wake up in pain, spend the day in pain, and go to sleep in pain. My chiropractor and his team do their best to alleviate a lot of it, but it's still there, and it always will be, and it's a choice I made, am aware of, and am okay with. Perhaps that will have to be your decision as well.

Go to an orthopedist surgeon when you get some money (if you don't have insurance, which I think I recall you saying you didn't, unless you find one that has payment plans), and ask him to take a look and to give you his advice. If he suggests surgery, get a second opinion. Get educated on the problem, and then make the choice that is right for you. EVEN if you did have to have surgery, you would still be able to come back. You are aiming for the adult circuit- you have a lot of time ahead of you. I only have a few years left before I retire, that's why I will not have any surgeries that are not absolutely necessary. Even if you had to take a season of, it would not be the end of the world. You are young for adult skating, so take the time you need to be healthy. You can do it! Chin up.

[QUOTE=sunshinepointe]One thing though, I can't find pointe shoes that fit properly now QUOTE]

I think some companies that take custom orders can make pointe shoes that have a custom heel, such as a lower heel. Or do you need more heel rather than less? I've also heard of some people sewing a small amount of elastic across the back of the heel (about 1/2" to 3/4"), horizontally, inside right below the edge to hold it on.

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Well I doubt you're only right about negative things. Let's face it, you have a lot of experience in the skating world and are therefore pretty well-informed about skating-related things, like ill-fitting boots. But you're also equally right about properly-fitting boots, and I should have really heeded your warning that ill-footing boots can cause horrible foot problems like bone spurs a couple months ago and this wouldn't have happened.

I'm not really freaking out, but neither am I skating. I fear skating with this condition because it will only cause it to get worse. You know I was trying to quit anyways but only lasted 5 whole days, on day 6 I was back at the rink feeding my addiction. I even rollerbladed before that and managed to learn mohawks, alternating outside edges, spread eagles, and waltz jumps. But then I noticed this problem and have been really bummed out, just because it means my skating days are pretty much over. Better fitting boots might help, and I suppose I could get customs which accomodated for the spurs rather than surgery, but I can't afford that right now. So yeah, I'm not really freaking out, I'm just depressed.

I don't know. It may not have been much time, but my feet are so deformed-looking and ugly now The pictures don't do it justice, when I look at my feet I want to cry.

You BETTER NOT!! Okay, you can retire from youth competitions and take some time off to get any necessary medical work done, but then you better be back. I expect to be seeing you kicking arse in adult competitions in time!

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Trust me....even if the pics don't do it justice, I have seen skaters who have far, FAR worse looking feet than that. I don't want to sound harsh, but that's nothing.

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Casey, do they hurt?

If it doesn't hurt and isn't growing, then you may not want to consider surgery (considering that it's, ugh, surgery.)

I have a heel spur on my right foot and the beginnings of one on my left. Odd that I never noticed heel pain. Hmm. I never noticed it till this summer and the sandals came out, so I'm guessing it's from last season's skating, and I'm hoping it's not from my new boots that I got in March (guessing not, as I was only on them a month.

But in your pics, it doesn't look nasty or disgusting, so if you're worried about cosmetic concerns, don't. I doubt anyone would notice.

Hmm...I'm not doing heavy pointe work at the moment (just trying to keep my feet "trained" in case I go back, which I might in the next few months), but I definitely need more heel as opposed to less. Right now I'm in Bloch Serenades which were working well for my feet but they keep slipping off. I thought about sewing the elastic on but I tried pinning a piece before and it didnt seem to help much.

Thanks for the tip, and sorry for the thread jack Casey!

I have them, and I dont skate, They are caused by lots of things, dont have to be the skates or skating itself. Surgery is a last resort, and alot of docs wouldnt tell you to do that.I dont know if I would jump the gun and swear is was either the boots or skating.
Ice, time, advil, is what you read about the most.

Oh no, that really must suck (for lack of a stronger word). I don't really know anything about bone spurs and haven't ever had any, luckily. Yours don't look very obvious in pictures.
The last few times after skating, I've temporarily had a bad feeling in my left foot's arch. It's like I can't fully put all my weight on that foot without it hurting. Not sure why it's happening, but it goes away after a few minutes.

My mom's mother (my maternal grandma, who is dead) had bunions or one bunion and needed surgery, and that concerns me because bunions can be genetic. That's why I have to be careful about the fit of skates, and shoes too.

Only when I skate.

Skating has grown increasingly unpleasant for the last few months, because when I get off the ice and take my skates off, my heels hurt, and sometimes my arches or other parts of the foot, but mostly the heels. There definitely wasn't any sort of deformity there when I started skating, so it's from skating.

The heel pain has gotten worse and worse each time I skate - the last time before I stopped skating regularly it hurt to walk, and hurt for hours afterwards just sitting in a chair. On the bright side after a week off when I skated again (only for a couple hours, not skating all out, and wearing thick wool socks) my feet didn't really hurt afterwards.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Oh, honey, that's nothing, really. All skater's feet are ugly--and dancer's feet are even worse. It's just the 'dirty little secret' of the sport.

I do feel for you...it's no fun to be sitting on this side of the computer screen either, knowing how much talent you have, but that we couldn't stop you from not taking the abundant advice that was freely given last year. I hate to see talent like that wasted for no good reason.

Don't jump to conclusions about your future in skating just yet. Take some time, heal up, and then start from 'scratch'--get good advice and look for equipment that is proper for your level and foot shape, and then get a coach who can help you not only progress, but help keep you from doing things that can injure you and burn you out.

You'll be back...you've got too much talent to waste. It'll sit around and eat at you if you never come back.

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Avoid the surgery at all costs! (Free advice from a PT). Bone spurs occur from abnormal muscle pull or constant rubbing in one area. If you don't deal with the cause of the problem (i.e.your boots, flat feet, pronation when you skate, etc. ), the spurs will just regrow. If you have the opportunity to get some physical therapy, ask your doctor to refer you to someone who will do a treatment called iontophoresis. It's a way of delivering local medication with electrical currents. We use dexamethasone ( a cortisone derivative) to decrease inflammation, or acetic acid (vinegar) to dissolve the spur.

Oooh that sounds really neat (no really)! Whomever invented that alternative to evil scary surgery gets 3 pats (or more!) on the back from me!

Maybe I'll be lucky enough that it will just stop bothering me and shrink back down in better boots.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

My daughter had exactly the same bumps from her ill fitting Riedells. When I took her for her Klingbeil fitting, Bill K told her that they would mostly resorb after wearing properly fitted boots for a few months, and they have. Years later she still has a bit of a bump on one heel, but it never bothers her. These things are a very common result of undue heel pressure/rubbing in poorly fitted boots. No surgery necessary, nor even a trip to an orthopod.

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Gaynor Minden sells heel grippers that you can affix to the inside of your pointe shoes: http://www.discountdance.com/frame_s...IFTACC_p1.html
(They're probably also available on the Gaynor Minden web site.) My husband has a pair of street shoes that need heel grippers (his old set of grippers wore out), so I'll probably actually order a pair for him!

I used to wear Bloch Serenades as well. I also really liked Gaynor Mindens and Freed. My favorite were Veronese, but they always broke down too quickly.

(Sorry, Casey, returning to actual thread topic now....)

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Bah, I don't mind thread hijacking - it's on-topic anyways.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

I loathe Freed, Blochs (except for Signature Rehearsals), and especially Gaynor Mindens (although I will admit that they never die...) but Veronese are my shoes. They've been there with me through almost my entire dancing life. I started out in Bloch Serenades, and then went to Veronese. I once made the switch to Grishko's Ulanova I's, and LOVED them after I FINALLY broke them in, and then accidentally dropped one in the tub. When I bought a second pair, they didn't feel the same, and I could never find Grishkos' that worked for me ever again. So I went back to Veronese, and I'm sticking to them.

Did you know they make them in hard shanks? That's what I get, they last me long enough (about 6 months when I dance 4-5 times a week).