Hurt feet are completely normal when you skate for the first time. It’s not so normal if they continue hurting for weeks. Is common to see children crying with their feet full of blisters because they had insisted on skating without socks, but it is usually adults who suffer from their feet when skating.
Why Is It Normal for Feet to Hurt at First?
Feet have to adapt to the skating position. Since the rigid boots don’t allow the mobility of the foot as we are used to with shoes, the rest of the leg works more, knees have to work harder and the calf will get more punishment.
But many times the pain comes from the tension that concentrates in the toes, which we clench in response to nervousness or lack of balance. Although our feet hurt, what really hurts us is to learn to keep balance. This disappears over time as more confidence is gained, and the inner ear gets the gist of this new position.
Foot Pain Due to Wrong Size
But the pain in the feet can also be due to the fact that the skate isn’t the ideal size. Feeling contractures in the foot, the toes or the tibia (the front part of the calves) the skates may be too big and we will be constantly balancing our weight wrong.
Developing blisters or bruises, it’s likely because the boot is too big and the foot is rubbing too much or “dancing” on the skate, or that the socks are too thick. If the pain is on the sides of the feet and is a feeling of pressure, the boots are way too small.
If the sole of the feet hurts, such as “pain below the feet,” is because may the tied or close of the skates is too tight, the boots are too small, or the wheels too hard. Pain in the area of the ankle or calf it can be because the skate is too narrow, is tied too tight or the position of the feet is not the ideal for skating with those skates.
Problems Coming from Skates That Are Not Our Size
When the skate doesn’t have the right size, you will have pain in your feet. If the skates are too big, the foot will have too much space inside the boot. This causes several problems, such as the lack of stability due to the lack of support on a part of the boot.
This leads to the toes being tense and making them bend, as if they were trying to grab the floor, and in the end, you’ll suffer contractures in the feet that can reach the legs. On the other hand, blisters and bruises caused by a loose foot in the boot.
When the skates are too small, you will also have problems. The feet will not have enough space and will squeeze in some parts of it. If they are new skates this can disappear after a few days because the skate will eventually fit the feet.
If after a few days or kilometers, the situation doesn’t change, it may be due that the skates are indeed too small. In some cases, skates can be molded to your feet using heat. But it is easier to buy proper-sized skates, taking the necessary time to try them out than to do experiments in your oven at home.
Moreover, because moldable skates are usually expensive. In the case of skates with flexible or padded boots there is usually less problems with small skates because if the foot enters and fits well, the skate adapts to the foot.