Shin boot pain--help anyone???

[sheffy]

anyone have any advice to get rid of pain at the top of the boot cuff--i carve pretty pretty agressive after a few runs i can always feel it---gets pretty bad the more days i get in--any advice would be appreciated??

[philfell]

What boots and liners do you ride in?

Temp solutions?
Never put heat on it, ice after riding.
Adjust your binding angles slightly, so you are pressuring in a different spot on your boot.
Don't overtighten your boot, it may sound tempting to do, but trust me it won't help.
Make sure your cuff adjustment is correct.

[sheffy]

I have ups boots...

[CarvCanada]

Booster strap above the highest buckle, tight boots, thermoflex liner? If it's a problem you've always had, I've heard of some people building little inserts and putting them between the shin and front of the boot.

Do you have new boots? Are they broken in?

How do you like the UPZ's (are they the new RSV SL's? I have some coming in the mail :) )

[Steve Dold]

I had the same problem. None of the usual advice worked for me, I tried booster straps, extra padding, etc. The thing that cured it was cutting a square piece from a small hard plastic garbage can, heating it up to conform to my leg, and gluing it to the outside of my liner to spread out the force on my leg. I couldn't believe how well it cured my problem. I'll try to post a pic.

[sheffy]

thx for the advice guys a pic would be great...

[Steve Dold]

It's positioned so that the top of the boot hits it in about the middle. It's a hard plastic, I had to use a hack saw to cut it, it's not soft like a rubbermaid can. I heated it with a heat gun to shape it to the liner.

You could test this to see if it works for you by just sliding it in place, and glue it there later if it does work. Rubber contact cement seems to work well and lets you remove it without too much effort if you need to.

I hated shin bang. It ruined many a day for me.

[Slim]

In addition to the above mentioned solutions to further distribute the pressure out from the bang-spot, another way to address it would be to try increasing the forward lean a bit, or using a heel lift (or both).

[kipstar]

I have a pair of almost unused older UPS boots, and they seem to have a low cuff and a stiffer flex than the raichles, which just stops at around about 75% pressure going through a turn, after which the boot distorts out sideways, rather than bending further forward.

It looked to me like I could max out the flex just standing in them, and the buckles collided (the 2nd and 3rd).

So...if you have the same model (and older Mach Z) and are encountering the same problem, then you may like to try playing around and seeing if you can identify if the buckles are affecting the forward flex pattern, which, if not constant, will cause a sudden stop in flex as you go forward...which might lead to a boot distortion and shin bang. Most of my riding in southern hemisphere is in NZ on very icy conditions which are highly variable, so a boot tends to have to cope with quite a changing flex load, much more than riding in the good snow of USA; so any boot with a flex problem going forward shows up quite quickly.

If the buckles are colliding, you may need to shorten or lengthen the wire bail on them (if they are like my old ones) so they don't collide.

[Jim Callen]

I have the new UPZ RSV's, and I had the same problem with my shins. Ouch! For my front foot, I lowered my lift a bit, and reduced the forward lean. For the back foot, I increased the amount of lean and screwed with the cant a bit to fix specific foot issues. I also found that narrowing my stance by about 3/4 of an inch helped dramatically.

Steve, the new RSV liner comes with a piece of plastic like you just described already molded into the liner. It's quite nice, I must say.

[Miguel]

I was experiencing pretty severe shin bang and I pretty much eliminated it by adjusting the upper cuff in my boots. I use 3 degree inward cants on my Bomber bindings which put pressure on the outside of my shins. I'm also bow legged which I believe compounds the problem. By canting the upper cuffs of my boots to the outside it pretty much eliminated the pressure. It made the upper cuff more in line with my shin bone. I still experience a little from time to time but it's far less and usually none.

[sheffy]

at the top of both boot cuffs in the middle......toe side turns

[underdog]

i used to get shin pain also. @ the eces last year they had a set up clinic and i took some great things away from. mostly heel or toe lift and lean and angles. i was so set in my stance, angles etc that i didnt want to change- but tried it (cuz these folks really knew their stuff) lo and behold!! no pain. i was like, you anren't supposed to have pain when boarding? i thought it went with the territory. personnally, toe lift in front and heel lift with a slight cant in rear made a world of difference. btw. what was that guys name from the eces? (the guy with roboboot?)
-chris

[Steve Dold]

Originally posted by Jim Callen
Steve, the new RSV liner comes with a piece of plastic like you just described already molded into the liner. It's quite nice, I must say.

I didn't know that Jim, I'll check them out.

[Stainless]

I rode my first day of the season today - and it was reassuring to have all the same feedback from my cramping shins, my cramping feet, my aching knees...

Like George Bush said in his first debate - "..it's hard."

[Randy S.]

Try SportLegs (http://www.sportlegs.com)

It won't help with shin bang, but it will help with sore muscles (especially quads).

Randy

[Hagen]

...Randy, you finally made me order some of that sports legs stuff. On my first day on the mountain this season my quads were bothering me quite a bit... ...let's hope this stuff helps.

[Ray]

Originally posted by Randy S.
Try SportLegs (http://www.sportlegs.com)

It won't help with shin bang, but it will help with sore muscles (especially quads).

Randy

have to try this stuff too Randy. Thanks!

What also helps a lot is to start using the Stair machine starting October for 45 - 60 minutes 3 times a week :D
If no Stair machine, I believe in Spinning/Cycle classes as well. But only if the instructor in mean. This stuff gets you ready for the season...

[Hagen]

...I guess I just started with my pre-season workouts too late - just 5 weeks before the first day of riding.

But I found out that those eliptical machines or cross trainers seem to work those quads quite well - especially in reverse mode...

[Mike T]

Originally posted by Hagen
...I guess I just started with my pre-season workouts too late - just 5 weeks before the first day of riding.

But I found out that those eliptical machines or cross trainers seem to work those quads quite well - especially in reverse mode...

Big fan of ellipticals, especially ones that allow you to vary the ramp incline. Although I find it works my glutes much more than my quads... especially backwards.

[sheffy]

how did shin bang turn into cardio workouts????:rolleyes:

[Jeffrey Day]

what was that guys name from the eces? (the guy with roboboot?)

...His name is Eric Beckman and he is an instructor at Sugarlaof!

[LeeW]

Originally posted by Steve Dold
I had the same problem. None of the usual advice worked for me, I tried booster straps, extra padding, etc. The thing that cured it was cutting a square piece from a small hard plastic garbage can, heating it up to conform to my leg, and gluing it to the outside of my liner to spread out the force on my leg. I couldn't believe how well it cured my problem. I'll try to post a pic.

May I ask for excatly which kind of plastic garbage can? name brand'd be useful. Im havin' trouble with shin bangs, esp when Im using the UPZ boots for skiing. I have bleeding spot on one of my shin. Otherwise, on the board, it's all good.

[d b]

Still having problems? I have this product that mite help? I bought them for volume issues but never used them! I believe they were $20+shipping but will dump them for $10
Mite be worth a try? Let me know

[Fleaman]

I was just wondering how many days you get in a year, if you dont go out much, your legs never build up resistance to the pain. I find that myt first 3 or 4 days out, it kills me, but then after my shins buid up calluses it works great. I also found that canting the boot away from the rubbing spot helped too. If your legs are rubbing the boot in a spot, it must be a natural postion, so you should cant your boots/bindings to center your leg in the boot. for me all I needed was a 1/4 inch toe lift I made out of diamond plate and placed it under my front bail assembly.( My calves were getting sore)

[Rob-CanCarve]

DB:

I might be interested - have more of a volume problem, than that of shin bang.

I am assuming that there are a pair of them.

Please feel free to e-mail me.

All the best,

Rob

[LeeW]

DB: Id like to get more info on those, pls. PM me if you could.

[d b]

ELIMINATOR TONGUE SHIMS
Do you have thin calves or skinny ankles? Do you have to crank your upper boot buckles especially tight to make the upper cuff fit snugger...only to find the flex becomes uncomfortably stiff? It,s no secret that most boot fit and performance problems stem from oversized boots. The Eliminator is a large, semi-soft foam pad with a smooth inner face that,s molded to fit snugly behind your existing boot tongue. It easily attaches in seconds with supplied fasteners (or permanently with contact cement) and can help cure a myriad of ills. These include shin bite relief, greater grip in the heel pocket and elimination of instep pain from overbuckling...particularly in snowboard boots. It also reduces or eliminates excess room in upper boot cuffs. Two sizes are offered...small fits boots up to mens size 9, while the large is for mens size 9 and larger. this is the ad from tognar tool
they are size large...let me know
db647a@aol.com

[LeeW]

email sent. need those ASAP since I use my UPZ very often for working on terrain park/halfpipe maintenance.

[LeeW]

Thanks D b!

[LeeW]

This is the Eliminator Im talking about. You can see how old this post is, and Im still -using- the same one that d_b sold me.

[queequeg]

have to try this stuff too Randy. Thanks!

What also helps a lot is to start using the Stair machine starting October for 45 - 60 minutes 3 times a week :D
If no Stair machine, I believe in Spinning/Cycle classes as well. But only if the instructor in mean. This stuff gets you ready for the season...

Dude, that stuff rocks. It's amazing. I have like ... a lifetime supply. I never go to the mountain without it.