WHY do my boots hurt SO much???

[oragejuice]

I don't know what to do. Yes, its the second day of the season for me, but they are excruciating. I have custom orthotics in them too, and they still hurt so bad that I can only do like 3 turns.

Help?

 

[SnowHot]

Are these new boots?
When did you get the customs?

 

[Robyn]

Where do they hurt?

 

[perma-grin]

A little more information please.:D Lol!

 

[oragejuice]

Sorry... I can't belive I forgot all that!

The bottoms of my feet are in excruciating pain. Just the arches, and it happens no matter what I have in my boots. They are not new boots. Have had them over a year. They've been custom fitted, and blown out to fit my feet. Lange Exclusive 90s. Got the customs recently, part of the pain is from getting used to them, but its nothing new, they hurt like this, just not as bad, last season.

 

[oragejuice]

Also, I've come to think that this is just the way that skiing is. Please tell me that your boots are comfy?

I was thinking today, 'I'm supposed to be teaching kids to ski this year, and I can't do more than three turns without stopping... Wow'.

 

[PowDiva85]

did you get new skis/bindings?? getting used to orthodics?? rip those suckers OUT...orthodics should only be used if they make the bootfit better. If you have alignment issues try getting the skis canted or boot soles instead. Other things.... langes have a ton of forward lean. Forward lean = pronation. If you have rigid arches your feet are constantly fighting the pronation forces resulting in cramping, have a boot fitter upright the cuff by stretching it back so you can stand up a little straighter. Are they out of the FR line? If they are not they have a really rigid boot board and the FRs have rubber, see if you can switch to the rubber which is much softer. Boots should not hurt like that!

 

[oragejuice]

No to the new skis and bindings, kind of. I did, but I'm not skiing on them yet. Getting used to the orthotics, yes, thought they would help, since, yes, I do pronate, very badly, and worse when I crank the buckles down. I have issues with the inside ankle bone hitting the inside of my boot, and feeling like a raw blister, but no such thing with the orthotics in there. I do like the forward lean in the Lange, I have quite a bit of trouble getting forward, do you think that it will matter much if I move them around? Not from the FR line, althought I have wondered if those would be better for me, since I'm more of a freeride type skiier, when I'm actually skiing well, and comfortably.

 

[sleddog]

Forward lean built into a boot does not help get your weight forward, and may even make you counter-balance with your weight in the back seat. An even flexing boot that has a more upright stance may help you get your weight more forward. One easy fix for that is to remove the spoiler in the back of the boot to allow a more natural stance, allowing you to fles into the boot rather than being pushed into a forward position.

Make sure the bootboard in your boots doesn't have an arch support built into it. If it does, the bootboard should be groud flat so that the arch in your footbed which matches your foot is the only thing in there. Custom footbeds should help with the pronation, but if your navicular bone is hurting, they maybe need to post your foot slightly on the inside

Do you actually have podiatrist made orthotics, or do you have custom made footbeds that were built in a ski shop?

 

[Bumblebee]

I'm probably going to get slapped down for my advice... but wth? ;)

No, you are not alone in your boots crippling you, I only got a few hours out of my "custom fitted" boots the last time out - the rest of the time I was in agony and I lost 4 toenails. This is damn all to do with my skiing and all to do with me being "expertly fitted" and bullied in to buying a boot I'm not quite sure about but not confident enough to go against the advice of the expert.

I had a pair of DREAM boots 4 years ago which allowed me to ski like a demon, I then went and put on 60lbs, got them blown out... lost 60lbs... boots don't shrink!

So, now I'm on a mission for Head boots and Head boots only. I KNOW they fit my feet. It's all good and well getting professional advice but only you know what is pain and what is acceptable pain. I was told over and over again that it was a good snug fit and that boots are supposed to be tight. I told the girl in the shop they just didn't fit and she didn't buy it... I told her a couple of days later on the hill that my toenails had turned black and she seemed genuinely surprised. Only you really know your feet.

 

[Severine]

I want to mention that overcranking down those buckles can be contributing to your problems. In a properly fitted boot, there's no need to do that anymore (per my master bootfitter). And from personal experience, I know that if I buckled down too tightly too early in the day, the cramping would come on fast and furiously and would not go away. I have flexible flat feet (slight arch that disappears when weighted) and over-pronate, so I can understand that part of it. I get bad cramps in my arches that I'm hoping will be alleviated this year with properly made footbeds (which were then properly aligned with the footboard, something the former shop did not do even though they made custom unweighted footbeds... they also made those wrong, which increased my foot pain).

The other thing is if you're tensing up your feet, gripping with your toes, consciously or not, that will contribute to cramping.

That's the best I have... hope it helps. :D I'm nervous about starting my season because of all the foot problems I've had in the past, so I feel your pain...literally!!!

 

[PowDiva85]

sleddog is right about the forward lean. The only thing about Langes is there are no spoilers or cuff adjustments so the only way to straighten the boots is to press the plastic back. I just got lange FR 100s and I get the same navicular bone pain you are talking about so I will put an orthodic but probably just a superfeet so maybe your orthodics are too rigid which could be causing the pain. Also the forward lean of the boots could be cutting into your calf cutting off circulation causing issues. Do they hurt when you stand in them in the store or only after skiing for a while?

 

[altagirl]

I want to mention that overcranking down those buckles can be contributing to your problems. In a properly fitted boot, there's no need to do that anymore (per my master bootfitter). And from personal experience, I know that if I buckled down too tightly too early in the day, the cramping would come on fast and furiously and would not go away. I have flexible flat feet (slight arch that disappears when weighted) and over-pronate, so I can understand that part of it. I get bad cramps in my arches that I'm hoping will be alleviated this year with properly made footbeds (which were then properly aligned with the footboard, something the former shop did not do even though they made custom unweighted footbeds... they also made those wrong, which increased my foot pain).

The other thing is if you're tensing up your feet, gripping with your toes, consciously or not, that will contribute to cramping.

That's the best I have... hope it helps. :D I'm nervous about starting my season because of all the foot problems I've had in the past, so I feel your pain...literally!!!

That's what I was going to say. Properly fitted boots are very snug, but the buckles aren't why. My bootfitter agrees - the buckles over your feet should be so loose they barely take any pressure at all to close them. (And you probably shouldn't feel much difference when they are closed. If your feet are flopping around in the boot when the buckles aren't closed, then the boot is too big. When you crank the buckles down it does weird things to the fit and that could be why it's making your feet cramp up. And they may fit right, but you're buckling them too tight.

Also, do they hurt if you're just sitting/standing around or only when you're skiing? Because if it's only when you're skiing, then I would also agree that it might be at least partially caused by gripping with your feet/tension. I know that I tend to do that when I'm skiing on ice - if I tense up, my feet cramp. When that happens I have to consciously think about relaxing my feet and the cramping goes away.

 

[SkiNurse]

I don't know about your bootfitter, but mine has the lifetime guarantee for fit, Take them back and them tweaked until the botts fit correctly. With as much as custom boots cost, you deserve some satisfaction!

 

[SnowHot]

one more thing>
Are your toes tight or do they have room in the toe box?
If your toes are too tight, you'll be curling them which can cause severe arch/instep pain.

 

[lucine]

Take em back for a refit.
Did you store them properly?
When putting them on.....my right boot occasionally slips the plastic into a weird position and even though I know how to buckle my boots I can make a painful mistake
Take em back
Good luck

 

[oragejuice]

Forward lean built into a boot does not help get your weight forward, and may even make you counter-balance with your weight in the back seat.

Wow, I had no idea. They make me walk like an absolute goof too, on my heels, or bent over like I'm the hunchback. Ha. They do have what appears to be adjustments that just need an Allan wrench? I've got one somewhere, I'll try messing with them.

Do you actually have podiatrist made orthotics, or do you have custom made footbeds that were built in a ski shop?

Podiatrist ones. After my second incident with the same knee, I started PT and they had an in-house, he did them for me.

I want to mention that overcranking down those buckles can be contributing to your problems. In a properly fitted boot, there's no need to do that anymore (per my master bootfitter).

Absolutely, but I don't even crank them down barely at all, and they hurt. Last season, before all these issues, I could have them fully tightened, and be comfortable all day long.

I'm nervous about starting my season because of all the foot problems I've had in the past

ME TOO!

Also, do they hurt if you're just sitting/standing around or only when you're skiing? Because if it's only when you're skiing, then I would also agree that it might be at least partially caused by gripping with your feet/tension.

They do only hurt really when I am skiing. I hiked for 2 hours in them yesterday, and was fine, and as soon as I buckle them (first notch only) and click in, I'm done after about three turns. As for the tension, I'm not sure that's it. I did my best to relax, and it didn't help.

one more thing>
Are your toes tight or do they have room in the toe box?
If your toes are too tight, you'll be curling them which can cause severe arch/instep pain.

Plenty of room. My feet slam forward on jumps if I don't have my upper buckles done. Black toes sometimes, but only when I'm playing in the park too much.

I don't know about your bootfitter, but mine has the lifetime guarantee for fit, Take them back and them tweaked until the boots fit correctly. With as much as custom boots cost, you deserve some satisfaction!

REI... = No idea? I've had them do some stuff, but I've never been terribly impressed with their "knowledge" over there, but I got the boots on pro-deal (after a fitting, yes), so I'm kinda up a crick.

Woooh.

 

[sleddog]

Are your footbeds made for ski boots and a full length of your foot or are they just from the arch to the heel? I've dealt with a lot of podiatrist made footbeds that were not ski boot specific and shifted forward in the boot while sliding into the boot. It's very difficult to get them in place properly if that happens and could be causing pressure problems.

 

[oragejuice]

They are heel-arch. But I didn't have a problem keeping them in place.

 

[vanhoskier]

Oragejuice, you gotta take care of this problem FAST! because you want to SKI!

Take your boots to a good bootfitter, even if you didn't buy them there. Tell them the problem and see if there are any solutions that don't require new boots. Have them check the fit of the shell first.

I've had problems with arch pain, AND my ankle bone hitting the inside of the boot in the past, and so I ended up going to Surefoot and getting custom liners made inside new Lange Freeride 100 boots. I went down a whole shell size! I also had the soles canted, because the alignment of my feet/legs was way off.

This was a mighty expensive solution to my problem, but it worked, and now I have a liner and insole custom-made for my foot.

Good luck and let us know what happens!