So bootfitters keep telling me I can't be fit...

Piste.Off

Piste.Off

Active member
This could be long so bear with me here. 4 years ago I broke my tibia and fibula. The break happened a few inches above my ankle bone. I had surgery to put in hardware, then a year later, I had another surgery to get that same hardware taken out. My 2 surgeries have left me with one fat ankle and one normal ankle. This has made finding boots that fit incredibly difficult. After my 2nd surgery, I worked with a bootfitter for a few hours and we settled on Full Tilt Konflicts.

Initially, both ankles felt great in my boots. I skied that season with very minimal pain, but my bad ankle starting hurting worse and worse every day I skied. The season after that was more of the same, with my ankle really starting to hurt. I ignored it I didn't want to invest any more money into my boots.

Now this season the pain has been unbearable. Its to the point where I can't ski with it anymore. I have seen 4 different bootfitters this past week, and all of them have told me that they can't do anything to my boots to make them fit.

My problem is my fibula has grown bigger and bigger for the past 3 years. I have a prominent bump where my fibula is bulging out of my skin. This bump is directly under my middle buckle. The pressure from tightening my middle buckle over my bump causes the pain, and since my ankle is much skinnier under my bump, it also pushes my ankle out of place in the boot, and in turn, it places a lot of pressure on my inside ankle bone. The crappy diagram gives you an idea of what I'm trying to explain. My leg is at an angle inside my boot.

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The other day I could only stand to ski two hours, when I took off my boot my ankle bone and the bump were bruised purple and black going up my leg.

You can see the size difference here. There's over an inch of difference in diameter.

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And the bump where my fibula is pushing out.

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3 of the bootfitters told me they had never seen an ankle as weird as mine. So bootfitters of NS, what's your take on my situation? All the fitters I went to have told me they can't punch out or expand my shell at all because of how high up on my leg my fibula is bulging out. Now I'm not a bootfitter, but I can't help but doubt that there is literally nothing a fitter can do to help me out.
 
Maybe put extra padding/layers around the leg/ankle with the bump... honestly no idea. sucks man. hope you figure something out.
 
You don't need a boot fitter, you need to see your orthopedist. If the shape of your ankle is changing with time your foot might not be moving smoothy within the mortise, that is a setup for early arthritis and re-injury. You might not be a candidate for revision of your surgery right now, but they might be able to help you and even if not you need to see them periodically to prevent future degeneration of your ankle.
 
I would recommend getting some of the Salomon or Fischer custom boot shells. They mold the shell and it will expand where needed, and contract where needed. This would be the perfect solution for your different feet/ankles, since one is fatter. The shells will mold to match your unique feet, and hopefully fix the problem for you.
 
So did your break heal unevenly? I know you had hardware and it probably stabilized/aligned the bone fracture during that period, but it looks like as it healed it obviously was starting to lose that consistent form after you had the hardware removed. I've seen ankle breaks where the alignment on one leg is slightly off and requires a differently canted footbed, particularly an Aline setup, so maybe that would factor into the alignment of your right leg and relieve some of the pressure off of the bump? Or was that just complete jibberish...idk i blacked out
 
My doctor told me that its not uncommon for my bone to grow much thicker at the spot where I broke it. So that bump on my fibula that has grown may not be a sign that my ankle is degenerating or not healing correctly. Either way, I have an appointment scheduled with my doctor for monday.
 
It seems like the Fischer vacuum mold boots that have a shell completely custom fit to your feet might be the answer. If that is a bad pressure point, they can probably allow a little extra room there or thin the liner to allow more room at that one particular spot. Also good Footbeds might help so your foot doesn't pronate when you are skiing, and change the way they fit your leg throughout the day
 
This should be your first course of action. I would be interested to see how much flexibility you have in your ankle and arch. This will determine how strong of a footbed that you could handle. (may require adjustment). The next thing is to then analyse the cuff once you are atop of the footbed. I see no reason that space could not be provided with a grind or a punch in the place you say your bone protrudes. Are you sure it is bone?? Possibly a shim above or below could be tried. Or a heatmould with the spot padded out. Full tilts may not be ideal due the limited range of the cuff alignment. A new boot could be in order. If your current fitters are not willing to attempt to fix this for you, you should probably seek a new fitter.
 
and I would say you probably require an ankle punch to get you comfortable, But all of this is hard to judge until you are standing in your shell on your footbed.
 
You may also want to look for a boot that you can adjust the canting on. Your problem looks like it may lie in the fact that your legs are bowed outward. My boss at the ski shop that I work at had a knee replacement surgery a couple years back and it left his knee completely straight, while his natural knee was bowed out. He was able to adjust for this in his replacement knee and skis fine now.
 
When does you ankle hurt? Is it when the boot flexes? Have you looked at a stiffer boot so that your ankle won't have to bend as much? Have you been to physio to strengthen the muscles? If you have been to physio, does your Dr and PT know that you're having issues with your ankle?

 
After looking at your pictures, you don't have that weird of a ankle/leg issue... your boot-fitters just seem inexperienced.

I didn't see if you said you had a good footbed made for you. Do you have one of these now?

Next, I would not suggest a 3-piece boot as modifying the inner shell ankle and cuff tend to be more difficult than a 2-piece boot. A 2-piece boot's shell and cuff can be stretched and ground in the area you are describing more easily than a 3-piece shell/cuff (and it is possible, which is why your boot-fitters seem inexperienced to me).

I rarely recommend a specific brand on NS, but I would actually recommend you check out the Atomic Redster, here's why: the new Redster has 8° of lateral cuff alignment, which is double the amount of most any other boot on the market. So, the chances of it fitting the curvature of your leg is much higher. The cuff of the Redster can also rotate inwards or outwards, independently of lateral cuff alignment. This would allow the cuff to be adjust laterally to your needs as well as rotated to find the best placement on your lower leg. It is by far the most adjustable cuff on the market.

 
actually was in a similar situation, although not nearly to the degree as you are. Cracked the lower third of my Tibia 2 summers ago so it has now calcified and gotten larger (which is normal). it does provide some discomfort for me, just can't keep my boots on for too long at a time, and have to have them tightened like perfectly otherwise its quite painful. you are certainly in a much worse situation though, hope you get it figured out
 
Thanks everyone for the help so far. To the questions, my ankle hurts the moment I put my foot into my boot. My range of motion in my bad ankle is much worse than in my good one, but flexing in the boot actually alleviates some of the pain. Also, I do not have a custom footbed. My arches have never hurt without one so I've never really looked into one.
 
A footbed does not simply alleviate arch pain- it provides the stable foundation for your entire body. A footbed creates the interface between your flexible foot and plastic cast you have stuffed it into. Without a footbed, your arches will collapse (sometimes pain free) which will cause your ankle to rotate inwards, which causes your leg to rotate and your knee and your hip. You can see how this would affect you.

So, your first order of business is to get a footbed- stabilize your foot so that the rest of your lower body isn't being placed under any undue stress. That your boot-fitters did not recommend this also tells me that they are not competent enough to solve your problem.
 
I feel your pain bro ive broken my right ankle 3 times and the left twice, im flatfooted and my ankles pronate( turn inwards) Feet problem suck. BTw from the pic you look extreamly bow legged, get some diesel vice grips and clamp your pressure spot as much as possible should help deform the plastic, if possible try and sand it down a bit from the inside
 
I didn't want to do this but I guess I have to get new boots. I set up an appointment with Larry in Boulder, he's apparently the best fitter in CO. Hopefully he can get me sorted out. Thank's everyone for your help so far.
 
You pretty much need to ignore people recommending boots, and take this advice. Especially considering the severity of your break, a surgery to remove hardware, and clear callus from calcium deposits. Basically finding a new boot is putting a plastic bandaid on a potentially much larger problem.
 
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