Susan asked Tom from The Foot Lab in Edmonton AB:
I just bought my 15-year-old new ice skates and they hurt the arch in his foot, could he get orthotics for his skates? Could this help with his skating performance?
Skates fit very differently than shoes and gait or the way you propel yourself forward in skates is also very different than shoes and this often adds to the discomfort. Orthotics can be very helpful by supporting the foot in the right places and they can also help with skating performance.
Usually the amount of room in skates is very limited so it’s important to find someone who really knows what they are doing when it comes to a skate boot and skate blade fitting. If you or your child is in hockey and you are looking to get the top performance out of the skates it is worth seeing a skate professional for overall fitting and alignment. If you’re not looking for that kind of peak performance then comfort skates work really well.
