Help for awful arch pain

GoldenGirlyGirl · Feb 27, 2016

Hi guys !

I've got those arch pain about 10 minutes after putting my skates on, and I don't know what to do. It's very intense and sometimes it can bring tears to my eyes (maybe like a cramp ?).
I think it is because I'm tying my skates too tight, cause the pain goes away immediatly if I loosen my skates. But if I tie my skates less tight, I feel very insecure on the ice. I need to feel my foot really well restrain to feel safe, I don't know if I'm right or if it is only all in my head cause I have fragile ankles and I'm afraid to hurt myself.

For info, I have Jackson Freestyle boots and I am doing all single jumps and single axel, so I don't think like I am overbooting and the boots are too stiff. Aside from that, I find these boots very comfortable and I don't have any blisters or anything.

Do you have any idea to help me ? Should I skate with my skates less tight even I don't feel safe ? Any over tips ?
Thanks a lot !

hanca · Feb 27, 2016

GoldenGirlyGirl said:
Hi guys !

I've got those arch pain about 10 minutes after putting my skates on, and I don't know what to do. It's very intense and sometimes it can bring tears to my eyes (maybe like a cramp ?).
I think it is because I'm tying my skates too tight, cause the pain goes away immediatly if I loosen my skates. But if I tie my skates less tight, I feel very insecure on the ice. I need to feel my foot really well restrain to feel safe, I don't know if I'm right or if it is only all in my head cause I have fragile ankles and I'm afraid to hurt myself.

For info, I have Jackson Freestyle boots and I am doing all single jumps and single axel, so I don't think like I am overbooting and the boots are too stiff. Aside from that, I find these boots very comfortable and I don't have any blisters or anything.

Do you have any idea to help me ? Should I skate with my skates less tight even I don't feel safe ? Any over tips ?
Thanks a lot !

You are probably cutting off the blood circulation. The boots should be done loosely in the horizontal area of the boot to allow the blood to circulate, then tight around the ankle to give you sense of security and then again loosely at the vertical part of the boot (the top few hooks) to allow you to bend.

GoldenGirlyGirl · Feb 27, 2016

Thanks for the answer !

However it is a pain very localised on the arch zone of the foot, and I don't feel my toes getting numb or anything, so I don't know for the blood circulation...
But I'll try to tie my boots like you said

khughes · Feb 27, 2016

GoldenGirlyGirl said:
Hi guys !

I've got those arch pain about 10 minutes after putting my skates on, and I don't know what to do. It's very intense and sometimes it can bring tears to my eyes (maybe like a cramp ?).
I think it is because I'm tying my skates too tight, cause the pain goes away immediatly if I loosen my skates. But if I tie my skates less tight, I feel very insecure on the ice. I need to feel my foot really well restrain to feel safe, I don't know if I'm right or if it is only all in my head cause I have fragile ankles and I'm afraid to hurt myself.

For info, I have Jackson Freestyle boots and I am doing all single jumps and single axel, so I don't think like I am overbooting and the boots are too stiff. Aside from that, I find these boots very comfortable and I don't have any blisters or anything.

Do you have any idea to help me ? Should I skate with my skates less tight even I don't feel safe ? Any over tips ?
Thanks a lot !

If you're ever in NYC, there's an excellent podiatrist, Thomas Novello, who has helped all the Balanchine dancers for decades. He really knows how to finetune footwear for dancers, athletes and ordinary folk.

hanca · Feb 27, 2016

GoldenGirlyGirl said:
Thanks for the answer !
However it is a pain very localised on the arch zone of the foot, and I don't feel my toes getting numb or anything, so I don't know for the blood circulation...
But I'll try to tie my boots like you said

Did you try to put in orthopaedic insoles? You may have to take the leather insole out first otherwise it may be too tight in there.

Babbette1 · Feb 27, 2016

Try alternating the way you tie your laces. The blog post has some alternate methods. I've never tested the arch pain one, but a couple other ones worked for me.

http://icedoesntcare.blogspot.com/2015/12/techniques-for-lacing-your-skates.html

GoldenGirlyGirl · Feb 28, 2016

hanca said:
Did you try to put in orthopaedic insoles? You may have to take the leather insole out first otherwise it may be too tight in there.

When you say orthopaedic insoles, are you talking about insoles made to measure by an orthopedist, or insoles I can find in a sport shop ?

Babbette1 said:
Try alternating the way you tie your laces. The blog post has some alternate methods. I've never tested the arch pain one, but a couple other ones worked for me.

http://icedoesntcare.blogspot.com/2015/12/techniques-for-lacing-your-skates.html

Thanks for the link, I'll try it next time I'm on the ice

hanca · Feb 29, 2016

GoldenGirlyGirl said:
When you say orthopaedic insoles, are you talking about insoles made to measure by an orthopedist, or insoles I can find in a sport shop?

I would probably start with insoles that you buy in a sport shop. Anything that can support your arch. If it doesn't help, you may end up visiting orthopaedist, but I would probably try over the counter insoles first. You may have to find some slim ones to fit into skating boots.

gkelly · Feb 29, 2016

Did the pain start when you got new skates?

Or did it start unexplained when using skates that you had felt fine in for months before the pain started?

I can't diagnose the reason, but you would probably be looking at different reasons depending on your answers to the questions above.

I once bought new skates which felt fine when I tried them on without blades but gave me terrible arch pain when I stood or skated in them after the blades were mounted. The reason turned out to be that that brand have high arches and my feet have low arches. The solution was to go to a skate expert a 2-hour drive away to have him heat them to soften the arch area. After that the skates were comfortable for me.

Your situation might not be exactly the same, but if the pain started with new skates then likely the skates are not shaped exactly right for your foot and may need some modifications by an expert skate fitter. (Worst case, these skates won't work for you at all and you need to buy different ones. I hope that won't be true.)

vlaurend · Feb 29, 2016

One possibility is that the boots are too narrow in the ball (front) of the foot. I used to get cramping in my arches when I was in boots that were B ball/A heel. Once I replaced them with boots that were C ball/A heel, I never had any cramping again. I am now on my second pair of the wider boots.

mrrice · Feb 29, 2016

I have no idea whether or not this will work with skates but, it definitely works with Jazz and Pointe Shoe's. Believe it or not, Pipe Insulation works very well. Here's a video that shows what it looks like. They're putting it on pipes in this video but you'll get idea of what it looks like. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sPMG8UqHBM

Princessroja · Feb 29, 2016

Oh goodness, I'm not the only one! I too have had issues, and it doesn't matter what pair of skates it is (I used to use rentals before I got my beginner skates, and I had the same problem) or how tight/loose I tie the laces. I tried the arch supports and that didn't work either. I'm at my wits end! Being in skates for 20 minutes shouldn't be the same feeling as standing in flats for 8 hours on concrete.

I hope you find a solution, and selfishly, so do I! I wish I had advice but I'm in the same boat. :/

tammyk · Mar 1, 2016

I have been dealing with this myself for months and I think I just resolved it Saturday. I am in Freestyle boots also. What finally worked for me was cutting craft foam (99 cents) into an arch support. I stacked two layers and used double sided tape to attach underneath my Jackson insoles. It looks like I just needed a little bit of arch support.This is what I tried in case one of them works for you: Dr Scholls arch support with Jackson insoles; Yellow superfeet; Yellow superfeet with a heel wedge; Yellow superfeet with foot petals arch support; Jackson insoles with foot petals arch support; Jackson insoles and yellow superfeet at the same time; tying while pulling toes under so not too tight over arch; tying other ways.

sillyant · Mar 2, 2016

Disclaimer: am not a doctor!

Yea, I used to have this problem too. It was awful. But after numerous appointments with dr (and a lot of trial and errors) I found out that my old boots doesn't have sufficient ankle support for the skill level I was at. Moreover, my old boots wasn't fitted well. They were too long and narrow. Things become much better after I got a pair of new boots.

I also discover that the pain is much better if I regular do exercise to strengthen my ankle muscles : http://www.bodybuildingestore.com/how-to-strengthen-ankles/

I still have this problem from time to time but I usually recover the next day. And... I sometimes take anti-inflammatories half an hour before a vigourous lesson. That speeds up the recovery

I hope these tips would help!

All the best

Myblade · Mar 2, 2016

Aha! Turns out I'm not the only one! Coincidence that I'm also in the Freestyle boots! I get this intense cramp in my arch after about 10? minutes of moves, and sometimes it hurts so bad that I have to get off the ice. I've found that if i take around 10-15 minutes to warm up before skating, it helps a lot. Flex your feet and point your toes and just loosen your feet up! I don't think the problem is the boots, because they fit me perfectly and I don't have to use ankle pads or anything like that. Good luck in finding a solution!

Help for awful arch pain

GoldenGirlyGirl

hanca

GoldenGirlyGirl

khughes

hanca

Babbette1

GoldenGirlyGirl

hanca

gkelly

vlaurend

mrrice

Princessroja

tammyk

sillyant

Myblade

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