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Shin Pain

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My wife suffers from shin pain after skiing multiple days in a row. Last season with being retired now, she got close to 50 days between mid-January and the end of March usually just skiing weekdays and avoiding weekends, and it became more of a nuisance, although it did not stop her from skiing. This occurred with her old Atomic Hawx 90 pre-retirement and her new Nordica Pro Machine 95. She had tried an Intuition wrap liner in the Atomic with no improvement, and it actually was worse which led to the Nordicas. She got a little relief by wearing ski socks with padded shins, but the whole front of her shin will be reddish and tender to the touch. I had taught her about avoiding shin bang by snugging the strap across the front of the tongue of the liner, which worked for her, so think of this as more of a long-term problem. The boot fitter did put a wedge in the Nordica to get her alignment right, but she wonders if this is part of the problem. I've talked to her about getting a custom insole this season rather than continue to use the aftermarket one that I assume the wedge is meant to correct. Any thoughts or suggestions from pros will be appreciated.
 

Philpug

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I've talked to her about getting a custom insole this season rather than continue to use the aftermarket one that I assume the wedge is meant to correct.
And that is where you start.
 

KingGrump

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Like Phil said, foot bed is a good place to start. It promotes foot sensitivity. Allows for skiing from the feet up approach.

Lower leg wise. Rather than the "shin to front cuff" mantra which promotes skiing from the front cuff top. Think pulling on the spine of the boot by closing the ankle.
Moving the velcro strap from the shell exterior to against the liner is a good step in that direction. The next step would be a strap that will allow progressive engagement. Like a Booster Strap.
 
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And that is where you start.
Do you think the wedge is opening her ankle too much as KG suggests? I had my Masterfit insole made at the same shop where she purchased her boots on the Killington access road, so I appreciate the benefits they provided me.
 

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Do you think the wedge is opening her ankle too much as KG suggests? I had my Masterfit insole made at the same shop where she purchased her boots on the Killington access road, so I appreciate the benefits they provided me.
I have no idea, not without seeing all of the pieces. Start with a proper foundation with a footbed and go from there.
 
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Like Phil said, foot bed is a good place to start. It promotes foot sensitivity. Allows for skiing from the feet up approach.

Lower leg wise. Rather than the "shin to front cuff" mantra which promotes skiing from the front cuff top. Think pulling on the spine of the boot by closing the ankle.
Moving the velcro strap from the shell exterior to against the liner is a good step in that direction. The next step would be a strap that will allow progressive engagement. Like a Booster Strap.
She skis with very good balance so I'd not have thought she was mashing the cuff with her shins. I hadn't thought of a Booster strap since my Langes came with their non-flexing buckled strap.
 
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I have no idea, not without seeing all of the pieces. Start with a proper foundation with a footbed and go from there.
She has also talked about boot heaters, which I suggested she get at the same time as the insoles so they all fit together with the boots.
 

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This happens to me, and I have gone through many liners and booster straps and socks and cutting plastic out of tongue etc etc ... I think I have figured it out. (for me, at least). It seems to be a function of the boot's forward lean. A little more angle just fits my leg better. My Atomics have been great in this regard, but I really struggled especially with my Langes and also when testing a Tecnica. I like how the upright boots ski, but they just murder my shins. Plus, as a bootfitter told me, I have very "sharp" tibias. I don't have much natural padding, and I could slice a ham with the edge of my bone.

But anyway, it's mostly toward the top, so I don't know if this is the same place -- ie, it's not the lower part and ankle, but where the top third of the boot contacts my leg; when I flex, I hit that first (or maybe it's that I'm already hitting that, because of the angle, and flexing just crams my leg into the cuff, something like that). I'm sure some things could be done with wedges etc but a couple extra degrees of forward lean seemed to do the trick. As always, YMMV, this could be something completely different, just throwing it out there.
 

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This happens to me, and I have gone through many liners and booster straps and socks and cutting plastic out of tongue etc etc ... I think I have figured it out. (for me, at least). It seems to be a function of the boot's forward lean. A little more angle just fits my leg better. My Atomics have been great in this regard, but I really struggled especially with my Langes and also when testing a Tecnica. I like how the upright boots ski, but they just murder my shins. Plus, as a bootfitter told me, I have very "sharp" tibias. I don't have much natural padding, and I could slice a ham with the edge of my bone.

IIRC you were one of the experimenters who messed around with slick vs. high friction socks?
 
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Thanks for input everyone. I showed the thread to my wife and she read through the recommendations. These will be a good place to start a discussion with the shop where she bought the boots.
This happens to me, and I have gone through many liners and booster straps and socks and cutting plastic out of tongue etc etc ... I think I have figured it out. (for me, at least). It seems to be a function of the boot's forward lean. A little more angle just fits my leg better. My Atomics have been great in this regard, but I really struggled especially with my Langes and also when testing a Tecnica. I like how the upright boots ski, but they just murder my shins. Plus, as a bootfitter told me, I have very "sharp" tibias. I don't have much natural padding, and I could slice a ham with the edge of my bone.

But anyway, it's mostly toward the top, so I don't know if this is the same place -- ie, it's not the lower part and ankle, but where the top third of the boot contacts my leg; when I flex, I hit that first (or maybe it's that I'm already hitting that, because of the angle, and flexing just crams my leg into the cuff, something like that). I'm sure some things could be done with wedges etc but a couple extra degrees of forward lean seemed to do the trick. As always, YMMV, this could be something completely different, just throwing it out there.
She also has sharp bony shins with little padding. The Intuition wrap rubbed against one side of her shins and created the most pain, but the tongue liner still leaves them red and sensitive. She says it was the middle third of her shin inside the boot that was the most affected. She described the pain as tingly and electric so that it made sleeping at night difficult without ibuprofen.
 

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This happens to me, and I have gone through many liners and booster straps and socks and cutting plastic out of tongue etc etc ... I think I have figured it out. (for me, at least). It seems to be a function of the boot's forward lean. A little more angle just fits my leg better. My Atomics have been great in this regard, but I really struggled especially with my Langes and also when testing a Tecnica. I like how the upright boots ski, but they just murder my shins. Plus, as a bootfitter told me, I have very "sharp" tibias. I don't have much natural padding, and I could slice a ham with the edge of my bone.

But anyway, it's mostly toward the top, so I don't know if this is the same place -- ie, it's not the lower part and ankle, but where the top third of the boot contacts my leg; when I flex, I hit that first (or maybe it's that I'm already hitting that, because of the angle, and flexing just crams my leg into the cuff, something like that). I'm sure some things could be done with wedges etc but a couple extra degrees of forward lean seemed to do the trick. As always, YMMV, this could be something completely different, just throwing it out there.
I also have razor sharp tibias and have struggled through years of skiing with different after-market pseudo solutions and modifications to boot, liner and power strap. For me, the only thing that really and truly "fixed it" so it was a non issue was the zip fit liners which I finally tried last year. Annoying to put on but so worth it once you've got them in your boots and on your feet.
 
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I also have razor sharp tibias and have struggled through years of skiing with different after-market pseudo solutions and modifications to boot, liner and power strap. For me, the only thing that really and truly "fixed it" so it was a non issue was the zip fit liners which I finally tried last year. Annoying to put on but so worth it once you've got them in your boots and on your feet.
Ah oh, the shop where she bought her boots offers Zip Fits...
 

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I also have razor sharp tibias and have struggled through years of skiing with different after-market pseudo solutions and modifications to boot, liner and power strap. For me, the only thing that really and truly "fixed it" so it was a non issue was the zip fit liners which I finally tried last year. Annoying to put on but so worth it once you've got them in your boots and on your feet.

Yes, I should have mentioned this. Zipfits do work, I used to always use them, and never had the problem. My boots in the past few years have been hybrid touring boots, and I have occasionally put them in there, but they are heavy and don't have great range of motion. I was swapping for a while, but it was a pain ... and also, there were differences in sole thickness and other things that definitely changed how it felt day to day, so I decided to just stick with one liner.
 

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Boot Doctor also has a foam tongue.
The boot fitter did put a wedge in the Nordica to get her alignment right,
You mean a heel lift or a lateral wedge?


What do people think will be solved by a footbed? Call me dubious.

Rigid powerstraps can contribute. Is there a lot of space at the top of boot front/rear if lower leg?
 
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Boot Doctor also has a foam tongue.

You mean a heel lift or a lateral wedge?


What do people think will be solved by a footbed? Call me dubious.

Rigid powerstraps can contribute. Is there a lot of space at the top of boot front/rear if lower leg?
Her Pro Machines come with a velcro strap, but she puts the strap under the shell and over the tongue to snug them up. There is no space around her cuff. Perhaps there's a little space below that where flexing "bangs" her shin? Her tenderness comes in the middle third of her shin inside the boot, not at the cuff.

She doesn't know about the wedge, but I'll check next week when I'm in Killington.
 

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What do people think will be solved by a footbed? Call me dubious.
I footbed will get the foot in a neutral position for a starting point. It might need some additional varus to help center the leg against the tongue dispercing the pressure against the shim. Again , I am not saying the footbed will cure the problem but a place to start.
 
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