Your arch type plays a huge roll in how you sit inside your boots. Different arch types can trigger a range of different cramping pains. A common area of irritation is under the arch- running from the ball of the foot to the heel
Ankle Alignment is so important when we are talking about a sport based on balancing over a 3.8mm thick blade! A slight misalignment can cause an exaggerated effect on your skating ability. A few signs that your ankle alignment is not sitting in the best possible position are: 1. not being able to sustain an edge (typically an outside edge) 2. your boots may show signs of early break down / stress (usually on one side) 3. your ankle bones (typically the inside) are rubbing against the inside of your boot and the top of the boot maybe cutting into your leg. The last tell-tell sign is that you are experiencing pain in either your arch, ankle, knee, shin or calf when skating. This can been in both feet or just one.
Whilst using insoles are a great way to reduce foot pain and improve ankle alignment, using the wrong type of insole for your arch can be detrimental. If you are having pains in your feet even after using insoles, they may just not be the right type!
Off the peg insoles are often the cheaper option but they do not work for all types of feet.
Very often people with high arches are higher than the off the peg insoles. Therefore the insole is not providing the correct support.
The ideal solution, for any and all foot-beds that need support or correction, is a fully custom insole. The insoles are made to fit the foot exactly.
Ankle rubbing can be just a normal part of ice skating. New boots will often cause irritation to the ankle, as does naturally having a more pronounced ankle bone. Just because it is considered “normal” does not mean you must grin and bare it.
Ankle gels are available to help reduce rubbing, lace bite, bruising and most irritation to the ankle that can come from figure skating. They are from £15.00 and come as a pair!
It is important to remember that as your skills progress the amount of power/stress you will be putting though your feet also increases. You may find you only need gels later on in skating, once you are jumping higher or skating harder!
Gels are a knitted sleeve with a gel lining. The gel sit against the skaters skin (under the sock) and provides a protective layer from the boot. If you have sensitive skin, you may want to use your gels over your socks as they can make you skin a little sweaty!!
Everyone has their own unique “foot” set up. Some people have bumps in the front and some have bumps in the back! No matter where the bumps are we can offer a variety of solutions:
*split last- if your bunions make you wide at the front but you are narrow at the heel we can look into boot with a “split last” where the back of the boot is built to be narrower than the front.
*boot pressing is also very effective for any additional bump on the foot. We can push the bump its own little space to sit in.
*Insoles can also help to relive pressure on a particular area of the foot and work well along side the boot pressing.
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