Snowboarding is fun. But if you feel hurt on your feet, you know how the feeling ruins skating.
Feet hurt when your arch flattens during toe-side curves or plantar fasciitis. Bindings, boots, and feet condition can be the cause of pain.
Why Do My Feet Hurt When I Snowboard?
Your feet feel hurt when you snowboard because of too tight or loose board bindings, weak foot muscles and ligaments, and too small or too large big boots fittings.
Other reasons your feet hurt are inflammation on the balls of your foot, a condition known as metatarsal, and unsupportive orthotics.
Let us discuss each cause in detail;
1. Too tight or too loose Bindings
Too tight and too loose bindings distract the snowboarding fun.
The bindings can be faulty into two forms;
- Tightness of the strap
- The base plate of the binding
Loose straps cause foot muscles to strain while turning inward. Play around with them until you achieve your best stance.
The most common-centered position is a good beginning point. Ensure the straps correspond to the boot size to avoid straining your feet.
Learn: Why your snowboard bindings keep becoming loose.
The too narrow base plate also causes feet instability, especially if your boots cannot fit the base plate.
But, when you increase the surface area of your feet, you can ride without straining tendons.
More reading>> how to fix sticky snowboarding bindings.
2. Weak foot Muscle and Ligament
Sometimes, your foot hurts because of your weak bones and muscles. Feet without strength can’t sustain pressure when turning inside.
So, you need to eat food rich in energy-giving here.
When you want to turn your feet inside, apply pressure straining your arch harder than before.
You will realize that your feet swell, irritates, and become achy.
Beginners experience more pain due to a lack of experience in snowboarding.
Muscles and ligaments lack the strength to control board moves on snow.
But, regular snowboarding helps you normalize turning and making the boarding movement without being hurt.
Off-set seasons can also affect your feet. When you snowboard in the winter, you engage those little stabilizer muscles, but when spring and summer approach, they tend to be overlooked in favor of your health and exercise plan.
Make sure you work on these little stabilizer muscles all year long, using exercises like barefoot beach running and sticking to your physiotherapist-recommended regimen.
3. Too small or too Large Boots Fittings
Your toes should comfortably settle at the front of your boot. The boots and leg size should correspond.
Too small boots or large boots cause discomfort while riding. Too small boot fittings prevent proper inside turning.
On the other hand, too big boots strain muscles while snowboarding.
If you maintain an athletics stance when riding or strolling about, you will ease the pain if your foot glides backward without constricting fingers.
Otherwise, you may need to use a boot with a bigger size.
If your shoes are too big, you might need shin bangs and have difficulties controlling your snowboard.
Use smaller boots to curb these problems.
Bend your knees and push your ankles towards the front of your footwear if your fingers feel tight while standing.
When it comes to boots fittings, consider;
- Wearing lace boots and not BOA: The BOA loses some of its holds with time, giving you less stability. If you have them, this isn’t an issue, but they may not grip your foot, as well as laces boots.
- Wear thin socks: Bulky socks are not always the best option. They may reduce circulation and cause your feet to become cold.
You can try thin casual socks or snowboard socks to see if your feet are numb.
4. Metatarsal
You can develop metatarsal because of jumping or running and snowboarding requires such activities.
It could be that your boots are too tight or loose, which could cause your foot to inflame.
The condition cause discomfort while snowboarding because turning your feet becomes hard.
When the pain persists, you need special attention. If the condition is not persistent, you can take a break to rest or ice your feet.
The feet condition needs a doctor if it takes you a few days to experience ball pain.
5. Unsupportive Orthotics
Poorly made orthotics do not support your arch when turning inside. The foot pain is because the foot arch is exposed and has no close contact with orthotics.
Acquiring quality orthotics can help. Orthotics holds your arch tight to prevent inflammation.
