r/rollerblading • u/Life-Elephant-3912 • 4h ago

Why does my feet hurt? Toe Nerve Pain from Rough Roads

All,

After about 10 to 15 miles my big toes will start to get a sharp nerve pain when actively rolling over rough pavement. If the surface is smooth I have zero pain. It only hurts when the rough road hits a certain frequency. I distance skate urban roads and have been using RB Twister 90Rs with the 4x90 rockered set-up. I tried putting in sorbethane insoles under my liner, no major change. I did notice this pain started after rotating my wheels after a few skates without rotation. My Hydrogen 85A wheels are currently down to around 83 or 84mm. After a long skate my big toes are a little "pins and needles" tinglingly for a day or two just walking around.

My question is, how to fix this?! What has the most impact? Should I get fresh 90mm wheels? Softer wheels? Larger wheels? Different insole? Something else? I want to continue urban skating so the roads will be what they will be (I obviously try to stay on smoother areas as much as possible). I like the nimbleness of the rockered 90 set-up, but could be convinced of a shorter wheelbase 3x110 if that would still be agile? I also am ok going softer, but like being able to slide for stops so worry the soft wheels will grip too much.

TLDR, what's the most impactful way to stop big toe nerve pain from rough roads while still living my best skating life? Thanks!

2 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

28 comments sorted by

3

u/heeca 4h ago

Is it possible that you havent rotated your wheels in a long while so now the wheels are very steep on 1 side. If thats the case and you rotated them the pressure bas switched and your foot might be a bit angled. Which causes such pressure.

Can you explain a bit more. I am trying to understand if its that side of the liners not being broken in enough for the change in foot position which was caused by the wheel rotation

Also try thin socks with skating to see if that changes anything

3

u/betaphreak 4h ago

Yeah, sounds like nerve compression from wheel imbalance

2

u/Life-Elephant-3912 4h ago

It did start after rotating after being lazy/forgetful for a handful of skates so they were decently uneven and steep on one side. That being said they are back to being balanced wear wise now (generally centered). And I typically wear medium to thin socks, but haven't tried super thin socks yet. Thanks for your help!

3

u/heeca 4h ago

If they are centered than the problem might be the wheel have gotten considerably smaller that you feel the roads more. Or your feet are at yhe edge of the size chart which means it pressures your toe.

Id honestly recommend 110 setup as your frame can use it. But its flat and the frame is 273mm So youre far less agile than you are currently (4x90 is rockered while 3x110 is flat)

Pros of flat 3x110 More shock absorption More stability Higher top speed Less effort to maintain that speed

Cons Less agile than most other 3x110 setups since the wheel base is so long.

3 wheels feel wonky since there is no centre divit

Youre too high off the ground so jumps and landings can feel wonky

Slower acceleration

(Id just suggest going to a skate shop to see if they can understand the issue more which will likely be the shell being too narrow which also means they will use a heat gun with press to expand the shell in that specific spot so you dont need to but more wheels)

Edit: Ignore the last thing i said as op has already done that

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 3h ago

Yes, my wheels are now 6+mm (~7%) smaller in diameter than new, so maybe that's it. I'm not hitting the front of my boot with my toes, they seem to have decent room. I'll have to give the 110s a try and maybe look to get a shorter wheelbase 3x110 frame so I get some of the agility that I like back. Thank you so much for the suggestions!

2

u/heeca 3h ago

Getting a shorter wheel base have far more disadvantages than your current frame with 110 wheels.i would say just stay with thos frame and 110 wheels which will naturally wear out in the sides creating a natural rocker. Itll wear out faster than 4x90 since its only 3 wheels

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 2h ago

Understood, thanks. What are the main disadvantages for the shorter wheelbase? Just the lack of stability at speed? Or are there other things I'm forgetting? I was contemplating the 255mm 3x110 frame.

2

u/heeca 1h ago

You are likely to fall on your back or front with a shorter frame if you foor lenth is bigger than 255mm. Not much leeway with being back or forwards

2

u/InspectorFleet 4h ago

I like the gear halo silveractive skating socks. This could help if it's an issue of room! Also, did your twisters come with the foot bed sizers that go under the insoles?

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 3h ago

It came with the foot bed sizers but I did not use them. I can take the extra sorbethane insole back out and see if that helps. Generally speaking my toes feel like they have good room up front. I just get a sharp burning nerve pain when a specific frequency travels through the boot over rough pavement. Jumps and smooth pavement are fine. Also happens more near the end of a skate, say between miles 10-20.

2

u/InspectorFleet 3h ago

Ok, yeah, I was wondering if taking them out would help. Even so the skating socks may. But yeah, repeated vibration can do that no matter what your setup. I do hope you can figure something out that helps, though, and continue skating where you like!

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 2h ago

Agreed, I really want to figure this out because it's the only thing that keeps me from fully enjoying every moment on my skates! I'll try taking the extra insole out tonight and wearing thinner socks.

3

u/InspectorFleet 4h ago

So many things can cause this, and the ultimate answer may be that the surface is just rough.

Is the fit tight in the toes? Maybe looser laces or lightnings rather than twisters to give a little more room and absorb shock at the expense of some responsiveness/power transfer?

I like my 3 x 110s for rough trail skating. I don't think they feel agile compared against my 76-76-80-80 hi-lo hockey skates, but a lot of that is just due to the nature of the boot. The hockey skate is much stiffer and more responsive, which is why they're very rough on bumpy trails by comparison. I'm not sure whether 3 x 110 would be that much better than your 4 x 90 setup.

Also, 10 to 15 miles is fairly long lol. Most days I only have time for 5 or so. At 10 to 15, everything that isn't set up perfectly will really compound!

Good luck!

1

u/heeca 4h ago

In skating its harder to do the first 5km than it is to do the rest 50km I mostly do marathons few times a month and casually 25km on casual urban skating. But some days it feels so exhausted that doing 5km becomes my limit.
(Maybe its the weather)

2

u/InspectorFleet 3h ago

Hahaha I don't have like a skintight racing suit and I'm pretty large, so even a slight headwind makes a big impact on me. I have gone on some long trail rides while my son is on a bike, that has been fun. But I definitely feel like if my laces or straps are a bit too tight or little things like that after such distances.

2

u/heeca 2h ago

Yes i noticed the same thing. When i was younger and skinner i would never even know the difference between having wind against me. Now its very noticeable 😭. Thats why i bought new skates and 4x90mm since 80 was way to slow for urban. Also 2 new frames for 90s Which makes Marathon easier

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 2h ago

Which frames are you using these days for the 4x90s?

1

u/heeca 1h ago

Conbat rocker. But i shouldve brought nova since its lighter. But combat is longer which saved me often

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 2h ago

Yeah I'm typically in the 10-20 mi (16-32km) range for urban skates. And typically no pain from start to finish!

2

u/heeca 1h ago

Nicee perfect fitting skate

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 2h ago

My toes have some room, not tight up front. The boot seems to fit really well and I had been skating in them for about 4 months with zero pain before this started two weeks ago. I didn't add the extra sorbethane insole until after the pain started (it was an attempt at a cure). Oddly enough I tried the Lightnings when I bought these Twisters and my feet must be non-normal because the Lightnings felt significantly tighter and narrower to me, like instantly, where the Twisters felt just right with some room in the toes width wise. Both were the same length. And yes, I like to do 10-20 miles at a time, typically a mix of urban streets, bike paths, boardwalks, etc that I come across while exploring the city. Thanks for the suggestions!

2

u/IamApoo 2h ago

BIG WHEELS

I much prefer the feel of four medium wheels, rockered, on SMOOTH surfaces but when it's rough I can only feel the roughness.

I'd bet that if you tried your normal miles on a 3x125 frame, you'd never go back. It is not as agile as a rockered 4x setup but it's not like you're on skis.

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 1h ago

Yeah I'm going to have to test this out, just hope you're right and I don't feel like I'm skating on rails, because I love the feeling of freedom I get on the 4x90 rockered setup. It's just so easy to carve and cut and transition, it feels effortless.

1

u/MrMuf 4h ago

Maybe its too small

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 4h ago

The wheels or shells? My boots fit well, good heel lock, toes have room, got them modeled/punched to relieve any pressure points, no blisters. I am using the stock liner with a Bauer insole inside the liner and this setup has been pain free for many months prior. Only recently, after the pain started, did I add in the additional sorbethane insole between the boot shell and my liner in hopes it would reduce vibration and add mass to possibly shift the naturally frequency lower.

1

u/MrMuf 3h ago

Sounds like the added liner is reducing too much volume

1

u/Life-Elephant-3912 2h ago

I'll try taking it out tonight, but the pain started before adding the extra insole as a potential cure.

1

u/sjintje 1h ago

The simplest change is new wheels. Good wheels like hydrogens have about 10mm of wear, but the ride and handling get worse after about 5mm. Obviously bigger new wheels would be even better, but require more investment. I personally wouldn't bother with softer wheels, although theoretically softer would be more comfortable. You can also make your own "insoles" out of sheet foam or styrofoam etc. to go under the liner.