Snowboarding is an invigorating winter sport that challenges your strength, speed and skill. Like most sports, snowboarding carries a certain amount of risk of injury and potential pain when practicing it. In snowboarding, your feet are absorbing and controlling much of the momentum of the board, which can lead to soreness and pain. You can mitigate this pain with properly fitted equipment and taking good care of your feet both before and after snowboarding.
Types of Soreness
Foot soreness can manifest in a number of ways when snowboarding. Foot cramps are a common ailment that can be debilitating on the slopes. Numbness and pins and needles are otherr foot issues that can arise after extended periods of time snowboarding. Pressure from over-tightened or too-small equipment can certainly cause soreness and complications from blood not circulating properly in your feet.
Causes
A common cause for foot soreness is not taking the time to stretch out properly and get your blood circulating to your feet before beginning to snowboard. Some amount of soreness is impossible to avoid in snowboarding, as your feet are taking a significant amount of the pressure and impact while boarding. In extreme cases, snowboarding regularly over long periods of time can lead to chronic foot soreness just because of the stress being placed on your feet as part of the activity.
Prevention
There are a few simple steps to take to reduce and prevent the amount of foot soreness you experience while snowboarding. Always stretch out before beginning a day of snowboarding to get your muscles ready and your blood circulating. Check that your boots and fittings are sized correctly and avoid over-tightening them. Loosen the bindings when not actively snowboarding to take some of the pressure off your feet. After a long day of snowboarding, stretch, soak and massage your feet to reduce the soreness.
Equipment
Since the major cause of foot soreness in snowboarding is improperly fitting equipment, it's important to know exactly what type of equipment you should be using and how to make sure it's fitting correctly. Go to a professional boot fitter when getting your snowboarding boots to make sure that the boots you purchase are designed for the unique shape of your feet and bone structure. Do the same when purchasing bindings and fittings to make sure all the elements of your equipment are working together to make your snowboarding as comfortable and pain-free as possible.
