Rollerblading HELP!

MrsBrosco
MrsBrosco Posts: 295
edited September 29 in Fitness and Exercise
My wonderful Hubby just bought me rollerblades :laugh:

The reason for laughter is that I am a HUGE clutz. I used to rollerblade all over town when I was a kid and LOVED it. I strapped them on the other night and slowly made my way down the road a few feet before I panicked and took them off. I'm terrified of falling and breaking an arm or leg :sad:

Here's my beef, after skating for only 7-8 minutes the next morning my ankles and shins were really tight and they felt horrible. Is this simply because I didn't stretch? My husband said that I didn't have them on tight enough and that he would put them on me the next time. He plays roller hockey so he's REALLY pushing the subject, we even bought my 2 year old skates as well :wink:

I am also bow-legged so my ankles tend to roll out and I have a problem supporting them while skating. The hubby again stated that is because I'm not wearing them tight enough. I'm going to try it again tonight after him putting them on and see what happends.

Any suggestions???

Replies

  • Meg28
    Meg28 Posts: 59
    Yes, make sure you lace them up tightly so your ankles and shins are supported. You are also probably working muscles that haven't been worked in a while, so you'll be sore, but that's ok. Make sure to wear a helmet and gloves too in case you to fall over...
  • amymeenieminymo
    amymeenieminymo Posts: 2,394 Member
    No real advice, but I used to rollerblade all the time (in my early 20's) but then it seems that as soon as I hit late 20's (now early 30's) I just have no balance. I've also experienced the shin pain, it kills. I think it is just because those muscles are out of shape, so keep at it and good luck!
  • princess_in_power
    princess_in_power Posts: 234 Member
    Yes, make sure you lace them up tightly so your ankles and shins are supported. You are also probably working muscles that haven't been worked in a while, so you'll be sore, but that's ok. Make sure to wear a helmet and gloves too in case you to fall over...

    I second the gloves! or some sort of palm protection!

    Also do you have netflix? (edited to correct spelling, ha ha)

    There is a crazy old bird (retired figure skater) that has learn to skate videos on there and... she teaches you to fall "correctly", teach your brain what position to get in so you don't get hurt when you fall!

    I'm a strong believer in protective gear, it's not because we're wimpy! It's because we don't want to be sidelined w/injury!!
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    your ankles are probably weak. There are a ton of ligaments and tendons in the ankle and upper foot, when you don't work them regularly, any type of strong flexing actions can cause pain and soreness in that joint. There's really no way to eliminate this quickly, strengthening exercise can help, and stretching before and after will help as well, but basically it just takes time to strengthen your leg.

    It's also worth noting that if you have weak knee and mid-leg musculature and structure, this will tend to cause more lateral movement in the leg when balancing, which causes more stress on the ankle.

    As is often said, "it's all related", this is very true of any balance type activity, weak knees can mean pain in your back or ankle or foot, weak ankles can mean overworked knees and back, weak core (back) can mean pain all the way down the legs and numb feet.

    Lower body plyometrics is a great tool to use to strengthen this. Also things like dead lifts, squats, 1 legged dead lifts, 1 legged squats, bosu ball 1 foot stands, jump rope, squat jacks...etc. all very good for balance and strengthening joints.
  • Kitiara47
    Kitiara47 Posts: 235 Member
    I'm starting to get back into rollerblading too, and I'm definitely a clutz! I always used the side by side skates at roller rinks, but I really want to be able to inline skate. I have the same problem with my shins, and I believe it's because they are not used to it. I tighten them pretty well, so I don't think that's a problem. And I always make sure to stay close to the grass! :laugh:

    Good luck! :happy:
  • nygiantschick
    nygiantschick Posts: 289 Member
    I skate at least 6 times a month for 2 hours at a time. When I first started blading/skating several years ago my entire lower leg area hurt because I was using those muscles in a totally different way compared to walking/aerobics. As long as you are not straining or pulling anything it should just take some time to build up the strength in those muscles again. If you did it as a kid you can do it again bowlegged or not (I'm knock-kneed so you can just imagine how that looks) :laugh:

    Sounds like hubby knows what he is talking about so let him strap you into those things and keep it rolling. Because of your fear of falling you may be tensing up too. So try to just relax-maybe get some wrist guards and knee pads (that's what I did when I first started skating again). You may look like a dork, but I think it will give you a comfort level to help you relax and enjoy the skating. I burn about 500 cal an hour skating so it is so worth the time and it's fun to do with your family! HAVE FUN!!!
  • spicy618
    spicy618 Posts: 2,114 Member
    Being bow-legged will also present its own issues with in-line skating. Knocked-kneed people have outward facing )(, lower legs, which provide better stability when kicking-outward to obtain forward motion. Bow-legged people have inward facing (), lower legs, which result in separation of the ankle and knee joints to achieve forward motion. Picture a broom with a curved handle. Sweeping with the curve outward ( to the right actually may give some assistance in the sweep. Sweeping with the curve inward ) to the right results in a less efficient sweep.

    I recommend that you use four-wheeled roller skates.
  • wilsabeast
    wilsabeast Posts: 21 Member
    If your skates were tight, not too tight, circulation is a good thing the soreness comes from using muscles that haven't been used for a while and from wearing wheels on your feet. You will get used to this after a few go rounds.

    As far as feeling uncomfortable, here is what iwould do. 1. Gear up. 2 Skate around in a tennis court along the outside fences for a while till you get your groove back. You can hug the fence and have it there to grab onto if you get shakey.

    Have fun and be that bad *kitten* mommie that skates!!!!!
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