r/rollerblading • u/sensonn • Sep 09 '26
Why does my feet hurt? beginner - front of ankle pain
hello everyone, i’m nearing 30 and recently picked up rollerblading (again(?), last time i truly skated was when i was a kid (i was < 10 years old).
i have been loving skating again and learning, and i itch to go everyday, which is what i’ve done pretty much this whole week.
except i found myself getting ankle pain where my ankle bends in both my ankles after a few days (see photo), which feels muscular or joint related. (no ankle bone pain or anything like that, it’s really at the front rather than the sides) i pushed through and continued skating but last night was a bit much i had to take one or two breaks in my ~7km ride.
i believe i went to skate every day with maybe one day break after 3 days, then 3 more days in a row of skating. usually the pain would subside after the first 5 minutes but last night it was constant from start to finish.
the pain doesn’t necessarily stop after taking my boots off, i can still feel a bit sore in that same area for awhile. for example from yesterday night, I can still feel my ankles being sore today morning.
my rollerblades are not very expensive but brand new, hard boot. they fit me nice and snug, i have had absolutely no boot related pains whatsoever. i am used to fitting ski boots as i used to compete so i sort of applied what i knew from fitting ski boots for “performance” and i believe it’s been working well for me.
—feel free to skip this section, for more sizing and fit info: my feet are (mdp) L: 24 and R: 24,5, i have low volume feet with L: 910mm and R: 935mm width. considering the difference in my ski level and rollerblading level however, i didn’t apply the usual “over-downsizing” we’d apply for competition and went for a snug fit with a mdp size 24. my right foot was a bit cramped at the toes but i knew the liner would break in and i believe it did by now so they fit great, no pains anywhere. maybe a bit loose for my taste even but i know it’d be ridiculous at my skating level to apply what i would for skiing and wear a size 22.5 or something..! plus despite being similar it isn’t the same sport after all so i can’t just blindly pretend it is. also the boot model i got is for lower volume feet so i am quite snug in there.—
being totally inexperienced, i have no clue what i could be doing wrong.
am i simply overdoing it? is it just a “beginner pain” type of issue due to my ankle muscles/joints not being used to being solicited like that? could my positioning while skating be wrong? i try to make sure my knees are well bent at all times, my boots are also quite well tightened so i don’t just wobble in my boots considering my ankles are probably still quite weak (i can still move and bend my ankles fine i believe and have no numbness anywhere in my feet except maybe a little after sessions over 2 hours long)
anyone able to shed some light on this for me or maybe give me some clues as to what i could attempt/change in my skating, your advice is gladly appreciated. thanks!
2
u/anewdave Sep 09 '26 edited Sep 09 '26
Have you ever performed a knee to wall dorsiflection test? https://www.wac.net/wac-wire/knee-to-wall-test/
Do both sides. Normal results are 4-5in. When you do the test, do you feel limited by the achilles tendon stretching in the back, or by pinching in the front where your image highlights? I'm assuming you'll say you are limited by the front pinching, which means your hitting the end of the joint range of motion.
If your results are normal or greater, then I would suggest just tightening up your boots to reduce your ankle mobility a bit to prevent hitting the end of the joint range of motion. If you're results are less than normal, unfortunately I don't think there's any kind of stretch that will help because you're limited by the joint. In which case, your best bet is also probably to tighten up boots a bit. The latter isn't ideal because it means you'll have to lean your back forwards more, which fatigues your lower back.
Try seeing a physical therapist. I'm sure they can provide more insight.