What’s in Your Boots?

By Ned Dowling

All ski boots come with insoles. None of them are any good. Some might be fair and maybe even usable for those with strong feet, neutral biomechanics, and impeccable technique. But for most of us, they’re garbage. Literally. Throw them away and get some good insoles.

Why Do I Need a Good Insole?

Balance

Quite simplified, balance is a product of the nervous system. Our eyes, inner ears, muscles, tendons, joints, and skin are constantly sending information through the nervous system so the body can monitor, regulate, and coordinate movements.

Proprioception is the fancy term for the body’s awareness of its position in space. Try this: close your eyes and try to touch your nose with your right index finger and then your left index finger. You should have been able to do this easily without poking yourself in the eye. This is because the nerve receptors throughout your arm are part of the feedback loop that guides the muscle contractions responsible for movement.

When standing on one leg (or one ski), our ability to maintain balance is aided by sensory information from the bottom of the foot. Receptors in the skin tell the nervous system how we are standing–if pressure is predominantly through the ball of the foot or the heel, the inside of the foot or the outside. A good insole will enhance this feedback loop by providing sensory information and tactile cues to the nervous system.

Stability

Your foot has 26 bones, 19 muscles (plus another 10 that are technically in the lower leg but act on the foot), and 33 joints, all of which are your body’s connection between legs and skis.

The job of the ski boot is to enhance the connection between leg and ski. Boot technology, and thankfully, boot colors, have improved significantly since the dawn of skate skiing in the ‘80s. Modern skate boots use rigid plastic or carbon fiber in the soles and ankle cuffs to offer external support and decrease the demand on all of those muscles and joints.

A good insole should also decrease the workload on the muscles responsible for maintaining stability across those 33 joints. With skating technique, the joints of our feet do very little articulating. Thus, we want them held in place with as little effort as possible. With materials that do not collapse under load, a good insole will support the foot through the calcaneus and metatarsal bones. It will help prevent the longitudinal arch from flattening during push-off. This stability equates to decreased muscle fatigue (and potentially increased power transfer).

Additionally, we want the talocrural (ankle) joint to function in a neutral position. If a foot changes shape significantly with weight bearing, it is liable to affect the ankle joint in the process. By supporting the foot and limiting this change in shape, we can minimize the sequelae of adverse biomechanics up the leg: tibial internal rotation, knee valgus, hip adduction, and internal rotation. If the changes in foot shape are considerable, it may be that a good insole isn’t good enough, and a custom orthotic may be better.

What is a good insole?

A try-before-you-buy approach is highly recommended. Perhaps your ski shop, but definitely your local outdoor or running store, will have several different insoles to try. And you should try them all…except the squishy ones. We’re looking for support, not shock absorption. Desirable insole material should be fairly firm and hold its shape. Rigid plastic pieces are generally ok–remember that your foot is not articulating inside the skate boots. Also, consider the thickness of the insole—it is best to try them on with your boots to make sure they don’t take up too much volume.

Sizing is more about where the arch hits your foot vs the length of the insole (which can always be cut). It’s not uncommon to go up a size or two from what the box recommends.

The insole is there to support your foot, not push it around. The arch of the insole should fill the space between your foot and the floor. Too much from the insole, and your foot is going to be pushed onto the outside. Not enough from the insole and you’ve wasted your money. It should be the way Goldilocks wanted it: just right.

Since the whole idea here is for the insole to facilitate balance, stability, and control of the ankle joint, you need to test the insoles: balance on one leg both barefoot and on each of the insole candidates. Do the same with a small single-leg squat (i.e., go into hip/knee/ankle flexion like glide ski position). The insole should make these easier. If it’s more challenging or less stable on the insole, then it’s likely to make your skiing worse. Ultimately, a good insole is one that makes balancing and squatting easier.

Additional Comments

Custom orthotics come in two general categories. One is simply an insole that is custom molded to your foot. The other is both custom molded and shaped with additional material for greater external support of the foot. These can get quite expensive, so they’re typically not the first thing to try. However, if you have foot, ankle, or knee pain with skiing and have already tried some aftermarket insoles, custom orthotics may be very beneficial. I’d defer to your friendly neighborhood PT for guidance.

Classic boots vs skate. As mentioned previously, the feet don’t really articulate in skate boots, but we most definitely move through our metatarsophalangeal joints (ball of the foot) with classic. The same general guidance on insoles still holds; however, I’d stay away from overly stiff materials (the insole should flex very easily where your toes would bend). Custom orthotics might also be different between skate and classic, where the external material for the skate orthotic might be too obtrusive with joint articulation in classic boots.