Pianos and High Arches

I'm not sure what to do about my boots and my feet. When I got fitted, they felt incredible, but the moment I stepped onto the ice and started doing stuff, the pain began. If I tie them loose, there's pain. If I tie them normally, there's pain. I tried inserting one of those Dr. Scholls hidden arches underneath the foot bed to meet my arch, I've tried bunga pads, I've tried gel sleeves. I've massaged my feet before putting them on.

I also have another problem where the bone below my ankle and slightly above my arch presses against the inside of the boot that I don't know how to overcome. I feel like I can't do anything in the boots without pain and I don't know what to do. Do I get that spot punched out? Can I even do that with edea?

The boots are otherwise great boots. They're comfortable when I'm sitting, but I guess that defeats the purpose of a skating boot.

Yes, they are the correct size, and the problems are on both feet. I pronate slightly but we determined that wouldn't be a problem if we added an arch. I guess it's mainly that bone below my ankle.

kaneki said:

I'm not sure what to do about my boots and my feet. When I got fitted, they felt incredible, but the moment I stepped onto the ice and started doing stuff, the pain began. If I tie them loose, there's pain. If I tie them normally, there's pain. I tried inserting one of those Dr. Scholls hidden arches underneath the foot bed to meet my arch, I've tried bunga pads, I've tried gel sleeves. I've massaged my feet before putting them on.

I also have another problem where the bone below my ankle and slightly above my arch presses against the inside of the boot that I don't know how to overcome. I feel like I can't do anything in the boots without pain and I don't know what to do. Do I get that spot punched out? Can I even do that with edea?

The boots are otherwise great boots. They're comfortable when I'm sitting, but I guess that defeats the purpose of a skating boot.

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So they say you can't manipulate edea boots.. But you can. But only by an experienced and edea trained fitter. They can heat them with a spot dryer not an oven and I believe you can punch the ankle. I've seen photos of edea's with punched out ankles so someone has done that. I'm not sure if punching is good for the boot since its carbon. I know you can definitely spot heat. you're probably best to contact a professional skating shop or edea direct.

Yeah, I've tried running a hair dryer through them but that might not be enough, since it.... didn't do much..... lol... I'll find someone, but I was wanting to see if anyone could offer some advice.

kaneki said:

Yeah, I've tried running a hair dryer through them but that might not be enough, since it.... didn't do much..... lol... I'll find someone, but I was wanting to see if anyone could offer some advice.

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Ok so you shouldn't be doing that yourself. Heating it. You can damage the boot and cause premature breakdown. The point of heating it is so that the skate fitter can stretch or manipulate the boot where you need it. They use special dryers at a specific temperature. They can even narrow the boot. These people who do it are trained by edea themselves. Seriously, leave it to the pro that sold you the boot. They should ensure it fits you properly. They say it's actually really bad to leave an edea skate in a hot trunk so don't do that either. It can melt the boot and render it useless. It's not like a traditional leather boot.

Yikes, I was just asking for advice, not hostility. I've had boots before, and the hair dryer trick has usually done the job, so that's why I tried it. I don't think it would have made a much of a difference if I used a low-heat hair dryer versus if someone else put a little heat on the inside.

Anyways, the people who sold the boot to me is about four states away, so I can't exactly just go to them, hence why I'm here asking for some help. I appreciate it though, but tone it down a bit.

kaneki said:

Yikes, I was just asking for advice, not hostility. I've had boots before, and the hair dryer trick has usually done the job, so that's why I tried it. I don't think it would have made a much of a difference if I used a low-heat hair dryer versus if someone else put a little heat on the inside.

Anyways, the people who sold the boot to me is about four states away, so I can't exactly just go to them, hence why I'm here asking for some help. I appreciate it though, but tone it down a bit.

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No no not being hostile, sorry if you took it that way. Pianos are super expensive. Don't want you to spend all that money and then have to replace them. The people who sold you the boot should have told you how to care for them but perhaps they didn't. If you Google (edea skate heat) you will find all kinds of advice talking about not heating up the boot yourself and the damage it can do. Anyways, good luck. Hope you are able to fix the issue you're having.

Oh. My apologies then. I definitely misunderstood.

I've tried to do as much research as I can on them based on whats out there and figured a little bit of heat on the inside of the boot couldn't hurt it too much. I know to definitely stay away from heating the outside.

The problem with finding the reputable people is that I ordered from Skates US and my local pro shop closed that served pretty much my entire region. The only other "pro shops" in my area are those on the insides of my rinks that sell mostly hockey tape and hoodies. Fortunately I think my sharpener might know some stuff about them so I'll ask him what he thinks I should do. Between him and my coach, he might know a bit more about edeas.

Again, I apologize.

I have this problem in my Pianos to a lesser degree than you. When I don't skate for a day or 2 and get back on, I get cramping in my arches for about the first 5 minutes of the session, especially if I do a lot of inside edges. When I skate frequently it's not a problem. When I haven't skated, I try to mitigate this feeling by rolling my arches with a foot roller before I get on. For what it's worth, I tie them loose over the arch, tight over the ankle, and loose at the top. I had the toe box significantly heat molded and took them back to the shop twice. I don't know if this helps. If you are far away from your pro shop, you could try calling Edea for instructions of how you can mold them yourself.

kaneki said:

Oh. My apologies then. I definitely misunderstood.

I've tried to do as much research as I can on them based on whats out there and figured a little bit of heat on the inside of the boot couldn't hurt it too much. I know to definitely stay away from heating the outside.

The problem with finding the reputable people is that I ordered from Skates US and my local pro shop closed that served pretty much my entire region. The only other "pro shops" in my area are those on the insides of my rinks that sell mostly hockey tape and hoodies. Fortunately I think my sharpener might know some stuff about them so I'll ask him what he thinks I should do. Between him and my coach, he might know a bit more about edeas.

Again, I apologize.

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No worries at all, typing is definitely different then talking and it can be difficult to interpret tone luckily, I have quite a few figure skating shops in my area, it's too bad that there aren't any readily available for you. Maybe, if you haven't already try to call an out of state figure skating shop for advice. I've never come across a skate person who wasn't willing to answer questions, theyre so full of knowledge and want to share it and will likely talk your ear off lol

Good luck, hope you return to pain free skating soon!

If you're having arch pain, you can try those alternative lacing methods that you see for running shoes. Gabby Daleman skips a set of holes in her lacing on her right boot if you look closely. I had to adjust my lacing on my Flamencos because the lace was pressing on a nerve on my foot, so I had to figure out which spot in the lacing did that and adjust how I laced to keep it from happening.

kaneki said:

I also have another problem where the bone below my ankle and slightly above my arch presses against the inside of the boot that I don't know how to overcome. I feel like I can't do anything in the boots without pain and I don't know what to do. Do I get that spot punched out? Can I even do that with edea?

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I have no experience with Edeas, but I have an issue with that bone too. Having my boots popped out there, as well as over the ankle, is extremely helpful/necessary. If you can manage to get it done, relief should definitely be possible.

davincisoprano said:

If you're having arch pain, you can try those alternative lacing methods that you see for running shoes. Gabby Daleman skips a set of holes in her lacing on her right boot if you look closely. I had to adjust my lacing on my Flamencos because the lace was pressing on a nerve on my foot, so I had to figure out which spot in the lacing did that and adjust how I laced to keep it from happening.

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I'll have to check that out. I never noticed her lacing until you said something. I've never had to skip anything, as it's never gotten too terrible but... I'm thinking that the bone problem that I mentioned might actually be triggering my arches to hurt. I found that if I stay on outer edges and don't press into that bone, my entire foot is fine. The moment I start doing inner edge work and pressing against that part of my foot, all hell breaks loose.

double_flip said:

I have no experience with Edeas, but I have an issue with that bone too. Having my boots popped out there, as well as over the ankle, is extremely helpful/necessary. If you can manage to get it done, relief should definitely be possible.

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Fortunately it's not my actual ankles themselves! I just need like, a penny-sized pop out over that spot. I contacted the old shop owner to see if she'd be willing to help me out despite the shop being closed, so I'm hoping she'll help.

In the mean time I've just slipped my ankle sleeves over that spot on my foot to alleviate it somewhat. The pianos have wonderful cushioning around the ankles, like wow.

Edit: I'm thinking about re-naming the topic to "Pianos, High Arches, and the Bone Pain"...

Edeas can 100% be punched out. I used Edea Ice Flies for over 2 years and mine were shaped to the point where my boots were much more narrow than what came out of the box. I've had the heels squeezed, the ankles punched out, other areas punched out.

In fact Edeas must be punched out in the spots that bother you because they are not like a traditional boot where you may feel pressure that goes away after you break the boot in, with Edea if you feel pain it will stay that way unless the boot is punched out. The method of punching out is different for an Edea, than for a traditional leather boot. If you have access to someone who is trained to shape Edeas, then go to them, but since is sounds like everyone is far away from where you live you can do the punch out yourself (this is better than handing them over to some random kid who has no clue what he is doing). Some modifications like opening up the toe box are more tricky, but punching a spot out is pretty straight forward, just make sure to follow the proper method.

Heat the area of the boot you want punched out with a regular hair dryer, don't hold the hair dryer in one spot keep moving it (up/down, side to side depending on the area). I mostly heat the outer shell and maybe heat it a tiny bit on the inside of the boot (always keep moving the hair dryer, don't hold it in any one spot for too long). Don't touch the hairdryer to the boot. Do that for a while until the material of the area you want to modify is softened and moveable, it usually takes me at least 7 minutes to get it to that point. Use a timer. Feel the boot periodically while heating it to check the softness. Once the boot is properly heated use the back end of a screw driver (thats the part you normally hold in your hand) from the inside of the boot to punch out the area you want. You need to hold the punch out there until the boot cools. At least 15 minutes to be safe.

The process of shaping Edeas is basically heating the part you want to modify and using different tools to shape it as wanted and having that position held until the boot cools, where it hardens in the new position. Never stick Edeas in the oven, they are not that type of heat moldable, but honestly I think this method, although more confusing allows for a better fit from a stock boot. If you have heel lift you can fix that, if the toe box is too narrow you can fix that. If you have any questions feel free to PM me.

I noticed you mentioned having a lot of pain in your post. Is the pain mainly coming from that spot you need punched out or is it also coming from other stuff such as ball, heel, arch pain etc. ?

kaneki said:

I'm not sure what to do about my boots and my feet. When I got fitted, they felt incredible, but the moment I stepped onto the ice and started doing stuff, the pain began. If I tie them loose, there's pain. If I tie them normally, there's pain. I tried inserting one of those Dr. Scholls hidden arches underneath the foot bed to meet my arch, I've tried bunga pads, I've tried gel sleeves. I've massaged my feet before putting them on.

I also have another problem where the bone below my ankle and slightly above my arch presses against the inside of the boot that I don't know how to overcome. I feel like I can't do anything in the boots without pain and I don't know what to do. Do I get that spot punched out? Can I even do that with edea?

The boots are otherwise great boots. They're comfortable when I'm sitting, but I guess that defeats the purpose of a skating boot.

Yes, they are the correct size, and the problems are on both feet. I pronate slightly but we determined that wouldn't be a problem if we added an arch. I guess it's mainly that bone below my ankle.

Click to expand...

Is this your first pair of Edeas (or first pair of pianos)? How long have you had them? When I got my first pair of Edeas, my arch hurt a lot, but after break in they were fine.

I also have gotten my boots manipulated by an Edea rep (I have Concertos). I had the sides "pulled" out (I have very wide feet) and the heels pinched in (I also have skinny heals... my feet are literally shaped like a V).

If you have not met with an Edea rep, I highly recommend it, if possible! He did is for me for free at a competition. I believe they can be punched out at a pro-shop, however I recommend using an Edea rep!

Wow! Hi guys! Sorry for the super super late response!!

So, when I last responded to the thread I was having major arch pains and bone pains in both of my feet. Eventually, the arch pain went away with time after I removed whatever inserts I had put in. I ended up using one of your suggestions of lacing, where Gabby Dalemen doesn't lace one of the slots over her arch. I also got the boots stretched (which didn't last very long...) and recently just got them punched over the bone below my ankle. The boots are a perfect fit now!

Thanks for all your suggestions! I hope someone else can use some of this information on their pianos.