Footbed, alignment, Over Pronation

[nickia]

Hi,

I have some alignment issues and want to hear your opinion...

I have my footbed done by Walker Harb Ski shop in 2017 but I still have some issues. I didn't ski from 2017 to 2022. Since then, I've bought the alignment manual and have better understanding of alignment than in 2017.

I have lots of issues about my left turn. It started from being unable to get to BTE on left stance ski earlier this season. This problem was caused by wrong technique where my hip was rotated to the left during left turn which is polar opposite what the hip suppose to be at.

Since putting my hip in the right place ( not perfect CA but better than complete opposite) , now I have over engaged BTE in left stance ski. Even on flat ground, left stance ski is on BTE if I balance weight on it.

Here is a video of skiing:


Self Analysis of Left Leg/Foot:
1. Bow Leg
2. Overpronation
3. Knee tracks inside on natural stance


Here is a picture of natural stance:



Here is the video:



Here is the problem, on dryland, I can force myself to track my knee straight and not to overpronate. Here is how I screwed up my alignment session: I was doing forced stance during my boot fitting with Walker. .

I was forcing myself to track my knee straight and not to pronate my foot.

Forced Stance:



Here are videos:




Here is my footbed for right leg. It seems like it has some outside heel lift to compensate for bow legness due to my forced stance when in fact, I might need inside heel lift to fix my natural stance pronation.




Today I tried a heel lift placed on the inside of my right heel. It is about 1/4" high. I also added two credit card strips on the inside edge of the right ski boot. My balance on right ski seems to be a bit better now and no longer on BTE on flat ground. There is still some unstableness where right foot pronates but definitely better than before.





Am I on the right track in my analysis? Can I add 1 more credit card strip or it is unsafe? Maybe take out the current footbed and use a neutral insole + inside heel wedge?

I plan to attend camps next year to do a full alignment session but not a guarantee due to young family and have to travel to USA from Canada. Any tips/suggestions until I can visit Harb ski shop?

[Marc]

Hi Nickia,

this is above my pay grade but I guess the heel posting is to reduce your (too?) upright calcaneus/heel bone. OK hard to tell from video if its the bone or your achilles tendon I see. After that any tracking of your knee will be done under your boot. I know the Harb Skier Alignment System is way more advanced than that with many more measurments and on snow verification and adjustment! And the measurments are done both weighted and unweighted. So that should capture the case where you forcefully reduced your "pronation".

Did they fit and aligne your boots at the same time? If they made some room on e.g. medial side by heating and punching then that might be gone by now. Check boot fit without liner but with your posted fotbed. If you have under boot canting remove those temporarily before the check. Remember to relax and verify your medial bones are not touching. Also check boot cuffs are aligned to your lower legs.

Adding strips under front of boot / on toe piece is not recomended for safety reasons.

[nickia]

Hi Marc,

Thanks for the reply. My boot fitting and alignment was done at the same time but I didn't have any on-snow alignment adjustment later.

This section of alignment manual about conflict of bow leg but knee tracks inward in Pg44 might be relevant to my case:

2: A leg that tracks in can indicate pronation of the foot, forefoot varus, or tibial torsion. This skier becomes progressively knocked-knee while flexing

4: If a skier's nominal alignment and tracking are opposite(nominally bowlegged & knees track in), then be careful. Bringing the individual to a better nominal alignment can worsen the tracking , or vice versa. Fine tuning performance while skiing will be especially important for this skier. The range of flexion in boots is usually much less than barefoot.

I think my right leg is bow legged but also tracks in. Here is how my legs and turn feels:

Right turn:
Left stance leg feels strong. No matter how large of tipping angle tip toward BTE, my left stances leg stays strong and never collapsed

Left turn:
Right stance leg feels weak at the knee joint. I can't tip to large angle toward BTE because the knee buckles inward.
During skiing, the left side of the right knee feels lot of pressure. After a long period of skiing, the left side of the right knee feels sore.

It seems like my current setup puts my right leg at its near inside edge of range of motion. Any slight BTE tipping removes the skeletal supports and transfer all the stress to the knee joint.

My guess based on how my leg feels is that I need use whatever method (footbed/shim) to bow my right leg further out. When my right legs is bow further out, I will have more range of motion where the knee will stay stacked when it is being tips in BTE.


Is this correct? My inside heel wedge and 2 credit card trip shim on the inside heel of right boot don't feel enough. I might need more aggressive remedy.