Pronation - blade alignment vs footbed? | Golden Skate

Pronation - blade alignment vs footbed?

bostonskaterguy86

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 3, 2018
Country
United-States
So, I think I’m dealing with a bit of pronation in my skating. I have trouble getting good, strong outside edges (LBOs are a nightmare) and I even sometimes collapse onto an inside edge during backward one-foot glides. It’s frustrating because it’s holding me back from cleaning up my waltz jumps - I’m really not getting a deep enough LFO to get a good takeoff - and it makes one-foot spins an extremely dicey proposition (if my weight isn’t PERFECT on my left foot, I fall off the edge and my spinning foot skids out from under me).

I just got new boots (Jackson Debuts) and my fitter did a temporary mount of the blades. She’s aware of the pronation and she said we could consider moving the blades inward if need be. We also chatted briefly about footbeds for pronation and she said given the width of my foot and the fit I’m getting in the Debut, she thinks the Riedell R-Fit would be a good choice if I decided to go the footbed route - but she didn’t seem to think one method was better than the other.

So my question for those of you who also struggle with pronation - how did you deal with it? How much did correcting for the pronation help with skating skills? And is there an advantage to the footbed route versus mounting the blade closer to the instep?
 

figureskaterdude

Rinkside
Joined
Feb 9, 2017
I fixed mine with just mounting the blades inward. For reference I have Edeas and do not have any footbed adjustments other than what comes stock with the boot. I just thought it would be easier and cheaper to fix it at the shop with blade adjustments rather than trying to find inserts that work.

I had the blades temporary mounted, and I skated for about 30 min just stroking around and doing some light jumps/spins. Went back and adjusted them and tried again. etc. Worked out well for me and I now don't feel any of the affects of the pronation.

Pronation is definitely a real issue that should be fixed, but be careful not to get too paranoid with thinking that weak outside edges will always be caused by blade/boot issues. For a bit after I got my new skates I was still paranoid about the pronation, but after awhile I just realized that everything is mounted correctly and I just need to strengthen my edges!
 

Sibelius

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 28, 2017
We had the boot-maker build a cork wedge that fits under the sock liner in my skater's Debuts. We had thought about the R-Fit system, but since we are local to two custom skating boot manufacturers it was easier to do that. I'd bet you'd get similar results, although it will require a bit more trial and error I suppose.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
I have custom made orthotic wedges in the heels of my boots. And my blade is also mounted in a way to work with my foot issues.
 

tstop4me

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Country
United-States
So, I think I’m dealing with a bit of pronation in my skating. I have trouble getting good, strong outside edges (LBOs are a nightmare) and I even sometimes collapse onto an inside edge during backward one-foot glides. It’s frustrating because it’s holding me back from cleaning up my waltz jumps - I’m really not getting a deep enough LFO to get a good takeoff - and it makes one-foot spins an extremely dicey proposition (if my weight isn’t PERFECT on my left foot, I fall off the edge and my spinning foot skids out from under me).

I just got new boots (Jackson Debuts) and my fitter did a temporary mount of the blades. She’s aware of the pronation and she said we could consider moving the blades inward if need be. We also chatted briefly about footbeds for pronation and she said given the width of my foot and the fit I’m getting in the Debut, she thinks the Riedell R-Fit would be a good choice if I decided to go the footbed route - but she didn’t seem to think one method was better than the other.

So my question for those of you who also struggle with pronation - how did you deal with it? How much did correcting for the pronation help with skating skills? And is there an advantage to the footbed route versus mounting the blade closer to the instep?
I have severe pronation, and have gone through iterations of various solutions. A lot depends on the severity of your pronation.

(1) Since you are still on a temporary mount, the simplest solution to try is to move the blades inward as much as the slots allow. Simple enough to do.

(2) If (1) works (or you need to back the blades out a bit), you're done. If (1) is not sufficient, you have an option of (2A) plugging the existing temp mount holes and drilling new temp mount holes so you can move the blades in even further or (2B) remove the Jackson footbeds and insert corrective footbeds. Both options can be done in combo. Although some techs will move the blades in by an extreme amount [~1/4" offset between the longitudinal (toe-to-heel) axis of the blade and the longitudinal axis of the boot], I suggest you limit yourself to a max of 1/8" offset, especially if you want to maintain proper balance for spinning. If this offset is not sufficient, try corrective footbeds (I made my own; I have no experience with custom or over-the-counter units).

(3) If a combo of (2A) and (2B) is not sufficient, you will additionally need to shim the blades. This needs to be done carefully; otherwise you can bend or warp the blades. I have had to add shims.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
I might change my mind later, but for now, I'm just working on fixing the pronation rather than doing anything to my skates.
 

guitarist

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 17, 2017
My coach and I spent several weeks trying to figure out whether my issues with outside edges were due to technique, tying my boots too loose, weak ankles, or overpronation. It was a bit of all of them, I think. In the end, we had the right blade adjusted, since that one was much worse. It didn't magically solve everything, but it was such a big improvement. I'd been stuck with little progress for months, but I'm finally improving again. Unfortunately I still have some issues with the left outside edge (though not as bad as the right used to be), so we might have to have that blade adjusted too.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
How are you fixing your pronation?

By fixing up my posture in general and paying attention to make sure I don't let my ankles flop inward off-ice.

I'm doing pretty well with it thanks to this site: http://posturedirect.com/

(If you've seen me post this a million times, I swear I'm not paid to promote that site or anything. :laugh: It's just helped me immensely.)
 

likevelvet

#Bless this mess
On the Ice
Joined
Feb 13, 2018
Country
United-States
I have horrible pronation on my right foot, and I do both. My blade is mounted slightly in on that foot, and I use R-fit now, but I used to use custom insoles my fitter makes. I just like the ease and lack of wait time on R-fit, and it works just as well. I'm able to just keep a backup pack in my locker for when it's time to change them out, rather than worrying about an appointment.
 

Nimyue

On the Ice
Joined
May 15, 2018
Just to check: Do you pronate when you walk in your street shoes?

If yes, I'd first try arch supports or insoles if it's minor. If that doesn't help, move the blade.

BUT if you don't pronate in your shoes, you might be dropping your free leg hip.

ETA: Have a coach watch your one foot glides checking posture etc. Then have a good fitter do the same.
 

bostonskaterguy86

On the Ice
Joined
Jul 3, 2018
Country
United-States
Thanks to all for your advice here!!

Just to follow up - my tech moved the blades in about 1/8” and I skated for two hours yesterday. I noticed an almost immediate improvement in the depth of my outside edges. Where before I often felt like my “outside edges” were just slightly curved flats, they have the same sort of grip that my inside edges have. And I did several long backward one-foot glides and felt much more secure - no collapsing onto inside edges! I definitely still need to work on ankle strength to get really solid outside edges, but the blade correction seems to have helped a lot with getting started and I can take it from here.
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
Glad to hear they're better!

Also, make sure your skates are wide enough. I was still having so much trouble with my outside edges even though I thought I had fixed the pronation. It turns out that my skates were way, WAY too narrow. Kind of hard to do good outside edges if I'm losing feeling in my pinkie toes. I had thought it was from the cold because I was using unpadded recreational Riedells. Then I noticed that my new Jackson Freestyles are a wide width. :palmf: (To make matters worse, Riedells run narrower than Jacksons to begin with.)
 
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