FAQ From Store: Why do I have blisters on the back of my heel after skating?

What’s the Problem?

Well this question is probably the most frequently asked question at our store, and we have had great success in solving then fixing that problem.  After skating, a blister/callous/bump/heel spur may develop on the back of a player’s heel that causes an enormous amount of annoying and unnecessary pain. 

Here is a picture of a minor case, taken only two months after skating in a new pair of skates.

In more severe cases seen at the store, that bump/spur can grow to the size of a golf ball.

A term that your average hockey player may know as "Bauer Bumps" is an unfair label that is commonly attributed to the Bauer brand.  The actual term is Retrocalcaneal Exostosis, or Haglund’s Deformity; pretty much rubbing in a skate that leads to calcium build up on the back of the heel bone. 

What is the solution?

So to stick up for Bauer to some degree, a heel spur does occur in other skate brands as well.  As a matter of fact, Bauer is one of few brands that offer a skate that can prevent this problem from occurring.  In any skate fitting, you need to make sure that you are, among other things, fitting the heel to the back of the skate properly.  When you’re trying on a hockey skate and your foot feels tight or even pinched, at our store, we have the means to make the forefront (ball) and sides of the feet feel comfortable; so do not buy a wide or EE width skate in attempt to fix these pains.  Your aim should be to find a skate that does not allow your heel to move/rub in the back of the skate before you heat mold the skate.  Put the skate on, lace it up tight, and do whatever  it takes to activate your heel movement in the skate. 

THE CORRECT FITTING SKATE WILL NOT ALLOW FOR ANY HEEL MOVEMENT IN THE BACK OF THE SKATE.

Summary

As stated earlier, a “Bauer Bump” can be caused by any skate.  People have different heel widths and pronunciations, conversely each skate made will offer different sized heels.  So if you happen to have a skate-caused blister, feel free to ask one of our EXPERTS about how it can be fixed.  You can stop in the store or leave a comment below and we can help you find the correct fitting skate for you.   

     

Talk to our experts!!!!!

Well, it's almost 50 years later, and we want to take our sporting goods problem solving to the interweb!

 YOU CAN TALK DIRECTLY TO THE EXPERTS for advice about anything sports related!  Baseball, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, football, officiating; you have an athletic question, we have sporting answers. 

After answering somewhat similar questions at the store, we figured we could post some of the more popular ones to the website for all to see.  We want YOU to feel free to post your questions too, because there are plenty of unique dilemmas that require unique explanations.  We also happen to carry a wide array of products, so when new stuff hits the market we will be able to tell you all about it. 

Listen, we sell stuff at our store, but we are not trying to sell you on anything here.  We have a group of professional, experienced, helpful employees at General Sports.  We love talking about this stuff as much as you do, and we help people find solutions to sporting goods every day. 

So if you ever wondered something like:

-          why you have blisters from your cleats?

-          what umpire clinic should you join?

-          what size baseball bat does your son need?

 or

-          how do I determine what hockey stick to buy?

Please feel free to ask it here.  Keep it clean out there and have some fun.