Boots!!! Pain on outside edge

[loopylou3]

(Excuse my terrible foot pics!) I feel really stuck. I bought boots from a boot fitter in France where we ski about 6 years ago and they felt great initially, maybe I got better at skiing, maybe the liners packed out but I came to the conclusion they were far too big. Went to a boot fitter in the UK after I bought a stiffer pair same brand dalbello, one size down although the shop said I measured one size up (same as my old boots) but agreed dalbello come up big, had a full boot fit, the agreed the boot was a good fit (I was prepared to buy another pair of they said I needed a different boot) went skiing for a week, returned as I had pressure points on the outside 5th metatarsal bone, they punched it out, just returned from a week in France, but now it's worse, now if I buckle my top two buckles right to get the secure fit on the leg and ankle, the burning pain on the outside edge of my foot, kind of under my foot (underside edge marked in blue) front, is sooo painful I'm having to unbuckle on every lift and ski in my boots not tight enough because the pain is too much. I now wonder if I should have had the other side punched as I have the start of bunions, maybe if they were punched out then my foot would be secure and not have to tighten onto the outside edge. I'm going to have to pay again £120 and I don't even know if that's the solution, I have considered there may be something wrong with my foot. I just don't know where to go from here. I've got custom footbeds.

 

[MissySki]

So I have a wide forefoot and therefore pain on the outside area you indicated used to be a constant thing for me. Due to this I always need my boots adjusted in that area now. The only way it has ever been helped is to blow out the opposite side as you mentioned, so the big toe side in addition to the little toe side. Often boots are pretty flat in shape on the big toe side, if you have shape on that side of your foot like I do, the approach that has worked for me is to shape the inside area as well to my foot to give that inside bone a place to go which then takes the pressure off of the outside area of the foot. Hope that makes sense! Prior to finding my current bootfitter no one else did it this way (they would always just try to blow out the side with the pain) and I was in constant pain there… unfortunately that area REALLY hurts and burns when it is unhappy. :(

 

[loopylou3]

Thank you so much. I will go back and suggest this, although my fear is that if I want the boot to fit the big toe side of my foot, I'm going to need a pretty big punch out for my bunion and I hope it doesn't mean my boots will end up too wide, as I've been measured for boots based on my forefoot width, rather than my forefoot minus my bunion (if that makes sense!) it's very expensive for me to keep learning myself and getting separate changes done :-/

 

[brooksnow]

Your photos are great, showing exactly where the boots aren't right yet.

The blister you have above your arch is familiar. I had to have my boots punched out a bit exactly there where my feet widened closer to the heels than the boots did. Because this happened in my previous boots I knew to get my new ones altered up front.

I agree with you and @MissySki about getting the bunion side worked on. I think I see a red spot at your bunion. The experts here will chime in but I'm surprised the boot fitter worked on the little toe side first.

The pressure and pain are often on the opposite side of the area that needs to be fixed. For example, my little toes were squished with the next toes crunched almost over them. The problem wasn't on my little toe side, the problem was that the boots narrowed and rounded on the big toe side where my big toes go straight. Work to make my boots match the shape of my big toes took the pressure off the opposite side of my feet.

 

[Eera]

I had exactly the same pain: first season with the boots they were fine then they got so painful I was having to stop regularly and anything like a drag lift was completely out of the question.

Ended up going to an orthopaedic bootfitter as I have some problems with my feet. First thing he says is that the flex is way too soft so your feet are taking a lot of the strain instead of your boot. Plus some other stuff like the volume too low around the ankles etc.

Ended up in a much stiffer boot with various bits being heat molded and popped and for the first time in years I'm skiing without being constantly aware of my left foot playing up.

 

[MissySki]

Your photos are great, showing exactly where the boots aren't right yet.

The blister you have above your arch is familiar. I had to have my boots punched out a bit exactly there where my feet widened closer to the heels than the boots did. Because this happened in my previous boots I knew to get my new ones altered up front.

I agree with you and @MissySki about getting the bunion side worked on. I think I see a red spot at your bunion. The experts here will chime in but I'm surprised the boot fitter worked on the little toe side first.

The pressure and pain are often on the opposite side of the area that needs to be fixed. For example, my little toes were squished with the next toes crunched almost over them. The problem wasn't on my little toe side, the problem was that the boots narrowed and rounded on the big toe side where my big toes go straight. Work to make my boots match the shape of my big toes took the pressure off the opposite side of my feet.

Every fitter I had before my current one did that same thing to me, only focusing on the little toe side where the pain was. And it never worked. I’m also amazed more fitters don’t take the approach of making room on the opposite side as it made so much sense when my fitter walked me through it. The bone on the big toe side has nowhere to go so your foot might not even be sitting completely flat and straight properly. That’s what was happening to me. Mindboggling, but what a difference when someone did it correctly for me. I have never gone to anyone else after that because I don’t trust anyone else to get me to the pain free state I have found with this fitter. I can’t believe the agony I skied in for years thinking that was as good as it could be after several fitters failed to make it any better in multiple different boots too. I’m sure I did additional damage to my feet causing larger bunions with how squished up my feet were too. I used to only be able to wear soft Uggs on weekdays after skiing the weekend because my feet were so sore. Kind of shocking that I even stuck with it at that point, looking back now.

 

[loopylou3]

Thanks Brooksnow, yes there is a red mark on my bunion, I'm annoyed at myself for not realising!

 

[loopylou3]

Thank you everyone that has replied. im now wondering if I actually needed a narrower boot to start with, I'm wondering, if I get both sides punched out as per this photo, then what's left of my foot will be swimming around? Surely when measuring foot width for boots, then you don't want to measure the spurs and bunions too, you want to measure the width of the foot without these, and then punch the lumps out. Not sure whether to get it done in the UK, or better to get it done in Les arcs in France because then I can ski each day and go back for adjustments. Just need to find a bootfitter that's trustworthy in France! (Wish I had the tools and know how!!!)

 

[scandium]

If you get specific punches for pressure areas but the rest of the boot fits well, you shouldn't be swimming in your boot, as you should only be making space up the front and not affecting heel hold

 

[HuntersEmma57]

Oh, the boot misery! I'm so sorry you're suffering.

I'm learning some good stuff reading the repllies. The big surprise is the discussion of punching out the opposite side of where the redness/pain is. Makes sense when you think about it.

@scandium is spot on -- when the heel is locked is when you ski well. Having toes and forefoot miserably tight doesn't drive the boot or the ski. Nice and snug gets the the job done for having a good feel for the side of the boot to help with carving, etc., but no need to be bloody tight. In fact, toes support balance better when they're not squished.

After I ended my dress shoe wearing career, the bunions on my big toes receded significantly, but then my ski boots caused Tailor's bunions. The fit of my custom ski boot had changed because the big toe bunions were minimized. What a kick in the pants, TBH.

What I've experienced is that within boot brand lines, many characteristics are shared. For instance, Lange's are known as great racing boots - very narrow and tight fit for all (or at least most) of their boots. Most people have to unbuckle on the lift for them to be bearable. If you're not a competitve racer, that's probably not necessary or desirable.

Feet change with age and the boot line may need to be reconsidered. Nothing in your pictures reflects a good fit for your foot to me. Try other boot brands and definitely a different boot fitter.

Other options: Consider different liners and/or socks. Yes, socks.

Socks can make a huge difference. When a boot is tight, a compression sock can help. I highly recommend DISSENT ski socks out of Canada. Pricey, but they last years and years. Many people get them to reduce calf fatigue (and they do!), but they've been a foot lifesaver for me for years. I get no bunching in the toe box and they stay put.

I started with the thin ones (Hybrid) and as the boot packed out, I got the thicker ones. I will not alpine ski in anything but DISSENT. On their site they describe the GFX Hybrid as the "ultimate precision bootfitting baseline, combining thoughtfully mapped low-profile padding/insulation and high breathability." No unnecessary bulk, but still with protection.

Let us know when you find a solution. We're all rooting for you.

 

[SnowHot]

(Excuse my terrible foot pics!) I feel really stuck. I bought boots from a boot fitter in France where we ski about 6 years ago and they felt great initially, maybe I got better at skiing, maybe the liners packed out but I came to the conclusion they were far too big. Went to a boot fitter in the UK after I bought a stiffer pair same brand dalbello, one size down although the shop said I measured one size up (same as my old boots) but agreed dalbello come up big, had a full boot fit, the agreed the boot was a good fit (I was prepared to buy another pair of they said I needed a different boot) went skiing for a week, returned as I had pressure points on the outside 5th metatarsal bone, they punched it out, just returned from a week in France, but now it's worse, now if I buckle my top two buckles right to get the secure fit on the leg and ankle, the burning pain on the outside edge of my foot, kind of under my foot (underside edge marked in blue) front, is sooo painful I'm having to unbuckle on every lift and ski in my boots not tight enough because the pain is too much. I now wonder if I should have had the other side punched as I have the start of bunions, maybe if they were punched out then my foot would be secure and not have to tighten onto the outside edge. I'm going to have to pay again £120 and I don't even know if that's the solution, I have considered there may be something wrong with my foot. I just don't know where to go from here. I've got custom footbeds.View attachment 24103View attachment 24104View attachment 24105

To me it looks like you're rolling your ankle in which is forcing your little toe side out during that leverage point.
I'd make sure your footbeds support your foot, and possibly put an ankle donut on the liner to support your ankle more and keep your little toe stable