Guide to Shin Bang / Boot Bang

There have been a lot of threads in the last month about Boot Bang or Shin Bang as its affectionately know. This is a guide to why people get it and what you can do to avoid it. Im posting all that I know about it, but feel free to add your experience and what you did to cure yours so others can learn. Here goes:



This has been my experience with shin bang:



I started getting shin bang about 3 seasons ago, when i started getting into big jumps. I also started cross country running the next year. That season of running, i had the worst shin splints in the entire world. Hurt to walk or squat down. Running was so painful. That season skiing was even worse. My shins ached so bad that by summer that year, they still were tender to the touch.


So, I researched. I found that shin bang can really be caused for a few reasons, although in skiing there are really just two. Style and Gear.

Style: You are correct to think that landings have something to do with it. But its not landing forward, its landing backseat. when you do this, your shins compress back and then snap forward from the recoil, pressing them into your boot. This reeeeeeally hurts. Lesson here: LEAN FORWARD. think this every time you go off something. And stop with the kiddie trails, those fuck you up worse, too much back and forth in the boots. Also, avoid hard impacts like the plauge, just a few of those can ruin your skiing for the rest of the season if your shins are bruised.


Gear: This was 75% of my problem. My old boots just didnt fit right. They were race boots, with little flex and no padding. I have sort of skinny shins, so I must need a lot. I bought new soloman 1080 boots (2004) amd then my problems went away. All you have to do is get a boot that feels the best, not looks the best. Tightening your boots does help, but learning to land right and have a good fitting boot is better.

(Note: tightening your boots only prevents shin bang, and actually will make your skiing very very painful if you do this when you already have it. So, if your shins hurt, ride loose.)


If you have them now, i feel your pain. But theres little you can do this season. If they hurt whenever you touch them, like mine did, then you're pretty much screwed until they COMPLETELY heal. This took me a whole summer. If you keep skiing on them, even with forward lean, you enevitably with push on them at some point, which destroyed all the soft tissue between your bone and skin that is slowly healing. Wait it out.


Dont double up on socks, its a stupid idea. This just increases the pressure and tightness around your shins. Socks arent ususally that absorbant like foam, and wont pad as well, and will just cause more problems.

Excercies can lessen the pain as well. Try doing toe-ups on a board. Take a 2x4, put it down on its broad side and then balance on it with the balls of your feet, so the rest of your foot is in the air. Then just go up and down on your toes, bouncing. Do for 5 minutes a day and get stronger shins with more muscle (=more padding, less pain).


Hope you found this somewhat helpful! Feel free to add and make this the best resource for people in need of a solution.