# Ankle pain from boots or bindings?



## gauntlet09

My Question/Problem:
Ever since getting new boots I've noticed that my ankles will be very sore for 3-4 days after I ride. They don't hurt when walking forward in a straight line, and they don't hurt in specific spots from pressure points. They really only hurt when I twist them laterally (side to side) like when I try to shove my foot into, or yank my foot out of, a tied pair of shoes. Or if I keep my feet planted and twist my upper body. I'm really hoping that it's not because of the boots that I can't return or afford to replace. 

I've noticed that the boots are much smaller (also much stiffer) than my old ones and there is quite a bit of extra space between the boots and the bindings (both on the footbed and in the heelcup). Maybe my boots are slipping/moving in the bindings while I'm riding all day causing stress on my ankles? I haven't been able to notice it happening, but I'm usually focused on not crashing and injuring myself. I'm hoping that this is the cause of my ankle pain, and that getting new bindings that fit the boots better will solve the problem, but I don't have the luxury of testing my hypothesis at this time. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! I want to be able to ride 'til I die!

Me:
Age: 29, Height: 5'10.5", Weight: 170 lbs, Boot Size: 10.5/11

Riding Style:
Hard-charging bomber! Steep, fast, powder, trees, cliffs, natural kickers, groomed, tracked-up/moguls, a lap or two through park (jumps only), and I'll usually attempt a few 360's before the day is over. I ride really hard! For my style, I don't think there's anyone I can't ride with. Go big or go home!

Current Setup:
Board: 2011 K2 Slayblade. Fits like a glove!
Bindings: OLD Sims. Have held up amazingly well, but definitely need to upgrade ASAP! 
Boots: 2010 DC Judge (Double BOA, mid-stiff to stiff, Size 11). I spent a lot of time trying on boots before buying these this year. I've noticed a HUGE difference in my riding since getting them (much quicker and easier response from body to board). I am POSITIVE that I got the right size and I have good heel hold. I probably have 5-6 full days of riding on them and I'm still not sure if they're fully broken in yet, and I'm still figuring out how tight I like to have them "laced" for the conditions I'm riding in.


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## JeffreyCH

Are your new boots a lot stiffer then your old ones? If so my guess would be that your ankles are simply working harder to flex when walking in them. I've experianced the exact same thing when replacing work boots, my ankles will be sore for a week or so till they break in. I would say walk around in your boots for an hour or 2 and see if that results in the same pain, that would eliminate the binding issue.


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## gauntlet09

The new boots are much stiffer. Thanks for the response, I'll give that a shot.


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## howzcat

i have the same problem... my boots are Bonfire Blaze..any solutions?


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## Music Moves

Since this was revived...

When I made the transition to BOA, I had to adjust to being able to get the BOA exactly the way I wanted it and sometimes I still don't dial it in the way I should.

I know that the bottom cables for my front foot have to be lot looser than for my back. Otherwise, I get ankle pain in my front foot and it's mostly from pressure against the ankle. If I dial it the way it should be, I'm fine.

You probably already found your comfort zone, but thought I'd drop this in case it can help anyone else...


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## gauntlet09

Holy novel of an OP!  I had to edit it and cut it in half...and it's still embarassingly long-winded! My apologies, rookie mistake.



Music Moves said:


> Since this was revived...
> 
> When I made the transition to BOA, I had to adjust to being able to get the BOA exactly the way I wanted it and sometimes I still don't dial it in the way I should.
> 
> I know that the bottom cables for my front foot have to be lot looser than for my back. Otherwise, I get ankle pain in my front foot and it's mostly from pressure against the ankle. If I dial it the way it should be, I'm fine.
> 
> You probably already found your comfort zone, but thought I'd drop this in case it can help anyone else...


^^^This^^^ Excellent reply! :thumbsup: Also, I found it took a lot longer to break my boots in than I had anticipated (8-10 days or more).



howzcat said:


> i have the same problem... my boots are Bonfire Blaze..any solutions?


Don't know the specifics of your boot, but for me once my boots were broken in and I got my "lacing" dialed in better (trial and error, a continuing saga), I haven't had nearly the ankle pain I was having! I also started wearing low-profile ankle braces, which help a little but not much. I'm still suspicious that the bindings being much wider than the boots has something to do with it. :dunno:


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## grintser

*Ankle bone pain in stiff boots - PLZ HELP!*

Hi everyone!
Have a problem similar to the one described in this thread. I have recently tried to switch to stiff boots from the soft ones I wore my first 7 years of snowboarding. Last year I bought Burton Imperials and they were perfectly fine while putting on and walking around. For the first couple hours of boarding they were also very good, providing board control that I wanted etc. However later on I started to feel more and more pain in my ankle bones (those round ones that stick out from inside and outside of your ankle). By the end of the day I couldn't even walk around in my new boots. So I used the rent ones for the rest of my trip (they were softer and felt perfectly fine) and sold my Imperials in mid-season, thinking that probably the model wasn't right for me.
This year I bought DC Travis Rice and decided to try them out on the local slopes before going to the yearly mountain trip. And after a couple of slides I again started to feel the ankle bones... It seems like when I do turns, I press my ankle to the side of the boot. And if the boot is soft, it is okey, I just stretch it out. But if it is stiff and the outside is plastic, than I face a really firm pressure on my ankle bones and they do not seem to like it. I really don't want to give up on using stiff boots so I am trying to figure out, what can I do with my problem. May be I need to do some thermoforming with some kind of an onlay attached to my ankle bones? Or I need to do something with my ride technique, so I don't push my ankle so much to the boot... I would very much appreciate your help!


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## dave785

your boots don't fit. go post in the bootfitting thread. There's a creeper there with a foot fetish who'll ask for some pics of your foot, but once you pay that toll he'll point you in the direction of foot bliss (or perhaps his online store).

Another thing you can do is try reinforcing or adding padding to some of the areas that AREN'T pressured too much... this could offload the sensitive area by dispersing the pressure over a larger area. I was having trouble with my boots rubbing my arch too much, so I took out my liner and added some padding (to the outside of the liner, which would then be in between the liner and the boot) in a concentric circle around the affected area. Worked awesome.


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## grintser

Well, it seems like generally NO boots are fit for me if they're stiff enough. I don't think that Burton Imperials and DC Travis Rice have the same formation, so it's definitely the problem with my legs.
I've already called my local ski service, they told me they have a speical guy who adjusts boots to people's legs and that my problem is not unqiue. He adjusts not only the inner boot, but the external plastic one. In this bootfitting thread (unfortunately I haven't found one so I will greatly appreciate the link) do they discuss the same idea?
Online shop probably won't go for me, I live pretty far away from you guys


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## SkullAndXbones

it could be the boots but try adjusting your front binding angle a few degrees forward or backward and see if that helps.


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## dave785

Yeah I'd also look into getting some bindings with canting


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## wrathfuldeity

you might think about shaving off a bit of the liner (shave the outside of the liner...put liner on and use a sharpie to determine the area) around said ankle bone or using a donut over said area... see 

http://www.snowboardingforum.com/boots/51066-boots-faq-etc.html


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