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Help - another side of calf/boot pain issue

B

B.E.G.

Guest
Ok....so my boot saga is far from over it seems.

I know someone else posted a side of calf pain issue recently, and I read through that thread but I think I'm having a different issue and it's perplexing both myself and my bootfitter.

So when I ski in the morning, if I don't keep my boots super super loose (as in almost unfastened on the uppers) I get this debilitating pain on the outside of my left calf, right above my ankle. Even when I don't fasten them super tight (and I never crank down my buckles and after one run they're still really loose) my left calf just kills me. It hurts on the run, it hurts on the lift, it hurts just standing. It hurts the rest of the day. At Homewood this past weekend, I took my boots off at lunch and I couldn't even put weight on that leg just walking - don't ask me how I skied the rest of the day. Three days later, it STILL hurts - up to yesterday that area was hard and looked like there was fluid or something under. I have no idea what's up.

I don't know if it's a stance issue or boot issue or what. I actually had this exact same problem with snowboarding boots the one and only time I boarded (before skiing). Same leg, same place, boots laced up too tight?

My bootfitter thought at first that maybe it was the tongue of my liner rubbing against my leg, but it's the wrong location (the painful area is farther back).

He's talked to my most recent instructor, and they're both wondering if maybe my boot is too stiff (it's the Rossi JR Pro 70) and I'm straining my leg trying to get forward, so he's thinking of softening them up a touch to see if that helps.

But we're both a little perplexed. I figured maybe it was time to ask you ladies if you've ever run into anything like this, and if you have any suggestions!

On the plus side! My instructor told him I was skiing really well and he was teaching me things that he would teach skiers who have been skiing for years (and that I was getting them)! :smile:
 

frenchgirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
This just happened this weekend? So you had no problems prior to this weekend?
1. If you had a new footbed then I would check that out. ( I just had some posting added to my footbed and now the back of my heels are hurting.)
2. Were your old boots much softer?

I would think that if it was the flex, then you would have had this problem from the get-go.
 

vanhoskier

Angel Diva
Have your bootfitter check your alignment (hip-knee-foot). Your boot cuffs may need to be adjusted outward or you may need some canting. That's the only thing I can think of.
 
B

B.E.G.

Guest
Frenchgirl - it's been happening all season, just not nearly as bad as this past weekend. Though I've also had the same type of pain happen with snowboard boots so I'm confused as to what exactly it could be.

Vanhoskier - thanks! I'll talk to him about that today.
 

contesstant

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
So exacerbated by the different demo skis and heavier snow conditions. So you're working harder therefore putting more pressure on your legs/boots. Does it feel like it's muscular or does it feel like you are getting pressure from a point in the boot? Can you tell?

I feel your boot frustration! A lot of us do! It's even worse when you get very few chances to ski to fix things and it also ruins a precious ski trip. Oy. Keep us posted!
 
B

B.E.G.

Guest
So my bootfitter softened up my boots. They felt great in the shop but the true test is tomorrow when I go skiing! I hope this helps - I did feel a huge difference. Usually I have a harder time flexing my boots until the afternoon when I've worn then through lunch and they've gotten warmer and such. Will report back!

In the meantime, he's ordering me really really small insoles so that he can custom mold them to my feet!
 

Liquid Yellow

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Fingers crossed that does the trick. Boot pain is horrible.

I've had issues with every pair of boots I've worn/owned for the last 21 years.

One pair caused me such agony I couldn't do them up at all, and I ended up with a whole custom-moulded liner which was OK but fell to bits before long. My last two pairs have leaked because I couldn't do the toe buckles up properly due to my high instep.

I'm hoping my latest ones might finally be the ones I've been waiting for.

I hate ski boots :(
 

Stowski

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Good luck to both of you. Nothing worse than achin' feet! Well, maybe cold achin' feet!
 
B

B.E.G.

Guest
Still not solved. I could tell it was about to become really painful so I preempted and loosened my boots before going out today. Had a great ski day, but I don't know - the boots still feel big in the heel, but tight in the calf if I don't keep the uppers loose. I still need to talk to my bootfitter again.
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hey, BEG, I'm sorry you're hurting! I'll be interested to see whether the bootfitter can figure this out, but as I read your posts I couldn't help wondering whether you've got some physiological thing going on. I don't mean alignment for skiing; I'm thinking of some muscular imbalance or something.

If things don't work out you might consider finding a well-educated and multiply-certified physical therapist to listen to your story and see if there's anything that could benefit from strengthening, gait improvement, etc.

On the other hand, I just found out that my alignment was way off, and just changing my cuff alignment on my right leg fixed my skiing in a huge way--no muscle fatigue, no crossed tips or catching an edge with my right ski, nothing but sexy-feeling skiing. So there's no telling; skiing is a mysterious thing.

I'm crossing my fingers for you!!
 
B

B.E.G.

Guest
Hey, BEG, I'm sorry you're hurting! I'll be interested to see whether the bootfitter can figure this out, but as I read your posts I couldn't help wondering whether you've got some physiological thing going on. I don't mean alignment for skiing; I'm thinking of some muscular imbalance or something.

If things don't work out you might consider finding a well-educated and multiply-certified physical therapist to listen to your story and see if there's anything that could benefit from strengthening, gait improvement, etc.

On the other hand, I just found out that my alignment was way off, and just changing my cuff alignment on my right leg fixed my skiing in a huge way--no muscle fatigue, no crossed tips or catching an edge with my right ski, nothing but sexy-feeling skiing. So there's no telling; skiing is a mysterious thing.

I'm crossing my fingers for you!!

Hmm...that's a good point. I do know my left leg is definitely my off leg. It's not nearly as flexible as my right (I can do right leg splits, can't come close with my left). I also discovered this past week that my right leg is a lot stronger - when my bootfitter softened my boots, I can flex into them with my left, but whoa, I can REALLY flex into them with my right. I'm going skiing again tomorrow so I'll have to see again before going back into the shop on Monday!

And thank you!
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Funny thing about that--I've thought my right leg was weaker for a long time but it turns out it's just spazzy! I'm now wondering whether maybe a PT could help untilt my pelvis, which is what makes my right leg so pesky. It's amazing what they can do. On the other hand, I'm all for messing with tilts and cants and shims and whatnots--whatever does the job.
 

mtngirl

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Is it a muscle type pain? I get this if I tighten my boots too much.. I have huge, muscular calves, and I have to be careful not to do up my top buckle very tight.. and tighten it slowly.. Also, I have to tighten the power strap to get the top buckles buckled, but after I do up the rest of the boot, I go back and change the power strap so its not really applying any pressure...

I also tried doing up by boots with the power strap on the liner rather than the shell once (as is suggested by most)... now, this might be because my boots are a little different.. Garmont she-ride AT boots, which have that funky tongue thing, but doing that made the calf pain horrendous.

I think it has to do with having short legs, and long calve muscles and those muscles trying to work with a lot of pressure on them...

So maybe try putting the power strap over the shell, or keeping it on the looser side.. snug, but not really applying pressure, for a run, and see what that does?

Also, to get my boots as tight as I like them without pain, I really have to adjust them in stages.. like I put them on at the car, as loose as they go, walk up, get my ticket, tighten them a bit, get on the lift, ski a run, ride up and tighten them again...

What would be sweet is boots with multiple air chambers for tightening.. The air chambers would have some really cushy foamy stuff in them and i could have a remote control that operates them in my pocket...so on the lift, I could let the air out and have super cushy slipper soft, and then I could press a button and have them fill back with air and get tight again for skiing down. The air would conform perfectly to my feets.

they would also have built in heaters, and a massage function for when on the lift.

Anyone wanna invest?
 

Stowski

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Hmmm, seems to me that I tried on a boot with air chambers... Tecnica makes several models, I believe...
 
B

B.E.G.

Guest
Mtngirl, what you described with buckling too tight and muscle pain sounds a lot like what I've experienced. It's almost like I'm compressing my muscle on that side and it's causing a bruise or strain on it. I wish I was more physiologically adept to explain what I'm feeling better.

The great thing is today I felt NONE of that. I was just careful to gradually buckle up in stages, and by the afternoon I really had it buckled tightly and no pain, felt like I was totally in control.

My bootfitter, who is my ski shop's manager and an AMAZING skier with over 30 years of skiing behind him, actually skied with me for a couple runs today and didn't see any issues (with stance, alignment, etc.). So I am hoping this is the sign that my boot issues may be done? Fingers crossed!

I am also getting my custom footbeds in soon!
 

litterbug

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Now that you mention it, after some experimentation with my boots, I do something like what mtngirl described--I start off with my buckles loose enough that I can easily lift the lever with my finger, usually adjust them tighter when I put my skis on, and keep doing this for about two runs. I end up with them really snug but my feet and legs stay happy; yesterday I sat in the lodge for half an hour without unbuckling them for fear of messing them up.

I'm crossing my fingers for you!
 

Serafina

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I had a similar problem. The bottom of my left peroneus and/or soleus muscle, a couple inches above and just behind my ankle, would ache like a mo-fo during my first run, and wouldn't let off until I re-adjusted the strap and top 2 buckles of my boot.

For me, it turned out that my heels were lifting up in the boot, and that I was pressing back and down to keep my foot flat, and this process of press back/down while twisting the ball of the foot to steer was causing my pain. It was also causing me to go into the backseat, which I recognized, and then tried to push forward to keep the weight where it was supposed to be, which made the pain worse.

When the bootfitter put little foam inserts between the shell and liner of the boot under my heels, all of this went away instantly.

Not saying you need heel lifts, but am saying that if you're pressing backward because of an alignment or fit issue, and pressing forward simultaneously to keep your weight out of the backseat, that is one thing that would produce the symptom you're talking about. You'd probably also be getting feedback from your instructors, if they're good, indicating that they think you are not carrying your weight far enough forward. I was. They always said that I was not *very* far back, and thought I only needed to make a minor adjustment, but that is because I was fighting actively against the weight-shift from the heel fit problem.
 
B

B.E.G.

Guest
Thanks Litterbug! I think it's definitely smart to buckle in stages. Talked to my bootfitter today - actually skied with him - and he actually unbuckles his lower buckles on the lift. Going in stages for me meant I did a couple runs in the morning with some looser boots, but I wasn't in pain, and when I worked up to harder runs after those first two, my boots felt great (tightened up). I'm hoping that this will be the fix. I'm glad I had the boot guy soften the flex though - it's REALLY helped me get out of the backseat I think.

Serafina - I think I know what you mean about compensating for that backseat. I wonder if I should ask for heel ramps - sometimes I feel like I'm skiing on my toes in a conscious effort to stay forward. Though I did have a good lesson today on pole plants, which has really helped bring my stance forward. I'm apparently lazy and don't pole plant even though I learned how weeks ago, but when I do, it does bring me forward!

I did ask my instructor today and my boot guy about my stance, and they said I was fine. But I was also concentrating really hard today on stance too. So many things to think about!
 

snow addict

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Are you sure your left foot is not injured in one way or another? If you ski often you don't give it time to recover.
 

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