Solving shin bang

[that dude who did that thing]

My kid is gonna drive me crazy with complaining about his boots. He's riding dalbello protons, with intuition wraps. The shell is arguably too short, but we recently had them punched out and he says width is fine, instep is fine, but shins are killing him. Is this something a boot fitter can solve? Or is it just life with a stiff boot and a hard charger?

[stuckathuntermtn]

If the cuff is a bit short, or the flex is a bit "odd," like when the top bends more than the rest of the cuff, this can cause some digging in at the shin. Try a Booster Strap? Trip to the boot fitter wouldn't hurt. If he's a kid and has skinny legs, as many kids do, he could be bouncing around in there.
There's any number of reasons for shin bang that aren't related to the boot just being "stiff" and you can't really diagnose it over the internet.

[userA]

booster straps are a good idea for childrens boots.
AT boots with built in straps are better imo.
garmont she rides, with the 's' dremeled off, make a nice boys boot, i called them, he rides.
b

[that dude who did that thing]

He's not really a "boy" at this point. 16 years old, 140 lbs or so, 5'8". Has beefy calves (both because that runs in the family and because he puts serious miles on his MTB), so it's not that he's banging around inside the cuff. I'm not even sure that "shin bang" is the right descriptor, since it's hard to imagine any slop inside the cuff with the intuition wrap style liner, and a power strap on the boot.

Back to the bootfitter, I guess. On the upside, him learning how to communicate properly with a boot fitter is a better leasson to learn than giving in to his constant desire for new boots (since he doesn't understand that new boots are probably not the answer to anything).

[CaliBrit]

Softer forward flex boots.

[Dee Hubbs]

To understand shin bang lets talk about ankle anatomy and ankle biomechanics during skiing. The group of muscle in the front of your shin are your dorsiflexors and the muscles behind your shin are your plantar flexors. The function of your dorsiflexors when skiing is to prevent you from falling backwards. Now if you are skiing in the backseat you are constantly using your dorsiflexors to prevent you from falling backwards. If you spend a whole day skiing or landing in the backseat, you end up putting a constant load on your dorsiflexors. You make them work overtime and put them at risk for strain. That constant load you put on through your dorsiflexors can cause them to become inflamed and very tender to touch. Then combine that of the pressure of them constantly rubbing on the front of the boot as you shred over uneven terrain and need to use them to stabilize your ankle. This could result in ending your day short or putting you out of commission the following day(s) as you have to nurse these hurting puppies. Anyone who is a runner, this is the same group of muscle you injure with shin splints
When a customer comes in with shin it can be a multitude of reasons, the 3 most common are:
-1. His boot is too big, therefore not stabilizing your heel, your foot slides forward, heel becomes loose, and your natural retraction is to lean back to compensate for this feeling, if your shifting forward and backward that will cause a constant battle between your dorsiflexors and plantar flexors (see above) and you will waste a lot of energy that you want to preserve to moving fast and efficiently down the mountain with the least amount of effort as possible.
-2. If your certain his boots fit and are the right size, the footbed in the boot may not be stabilizing his heel, creating the same problem as above.
-3. He skis in the back seat. Get out of the back seat! (I repeat from above) If you are skiing in the backseat you are constantly using your dorsiflexors to prevent you from falling backwards. If you spend a whole day skiing or landing in the backseat, you end up putting a constant load on your dorsiflexors. You make them work overtime and put them at risk for strain. That constant load you put on through your dorsiflexors can cause them to become inflamed and very tender to touch. Then combine that of the pressure of them constantly rubbing on the front of the boot as you shred over uneven terrain and need to use them to stabilize your ankle.

[userA]

Softer forward flex boots.

hence the AT boot.
b

[Vinman]

^^What DH said, stay out of the backseat especially on hard landings or in deep snow. Once you have this injury it may be tough to get rid of. It could take a couple weeks of decreased charging, park, pow etc before this resolves.

Treat this as a muscle strain, ice with relative rest (decreased activity).

[east or bust]

^^What DH said, stay out of the backseat especially on hard landings or in deep snow.

Yep, I had this plaguing me last season for about the last month of skiing. One backseat cliff landing into deep snow did it for me.


If he has it really bad I strongly recommend he takes a 2 week hiatus (or until he's pain free). It is very easy to re-agitate this kind of injury. I was only skiing weekends last year and a week of rest wasn't enough to get back to full strength, plus my skiing sucked for the duration of it. Worth it to take the time off IMO.

[HighWest]

Those same boots improved dramatically for me when I removed the spoiler.

Sorry if that's already been suggested.