How pain came to dictate performance - A look back at ski boot fitting with Brent Amsbury

Ski boots are not comfortable pieces of equipment. They can be made to be more comfortable but for the majority of people this takes time and ideally the best pair of boots to begin with. This podcast looks at some of the history of ski boot fitting and how the search to reduce pain in the everyday skier lead to dynamic performance potentially being compromised. There was a point in history where one solution to the pain skiers would experience going from leather into plastic boots was to build a motion inhibiting, foot stabilising footbed or orthotic device.

This podcast is a discussion between master boot fitter Brent Amsbury and skier Tom Gellie on the topic of ideal boot setup processes and concepts. One side of the conversation centres on a static model of how the foot and ski interacts (hold it stable and dont let it move) vs a dynamic model of foot/boot/ski interface where the foot has a little more motion available to allow the joints to move and the body’s structure to be loaded through the muscles tendons and ligaments. Almost akin to how minimalist shoes have seen people rebuild foot strength and arch support through their own musculoskeletal system.

The goal of the podcast conversation was to bring light to two sides of the coin so people can make their own decisions as to what road they would like to go down with their ski boot setup. No right or wrong way just different outcomes.

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