Hi! Far too many times i see posts from players asking, how do you prevent blisters? what can you do? how do i break in my boots so i dont get blisters? etc. well. i sort of consider myself a heel blister expert lol i guess i have 'thenthitive' girly-man heels, because MOST boots i have worn my life have given me heel blisters at first if i didnt take the proper precautions.... basically, i think its best to do as many things as possible together for best results in stopping blisters. Now, i will talk about the heel specifically, but i think all of this will still pertain to blisters in other places (unless you are talking about blisters on places other than the feet, in which case i think you might want to have that checked out lol) so first, breaking in new boots: wear those boots around the house for a few days before doing any sort of playing. then play keepy up in them for half hour stretches. then jog in them. then run in them. no more than half an hour, gradually working up from wearing, to keepy-up, to jogging, to running. AS SOON AS YOU FEEL ANY HOTSPOTS (ie, any sort of heating sensation in your heels) STOP IMMEDIATELY. THE BLISTER IS JUST ABOUT TO START. thats for breaking them in. for preventative measures, do ALL of the following if you want to be extra careful. either atheletic tape your whole heel, or moleskin them. same idea. if atheletic tape, make sure its real sticky and wont be going anywhere. then, get some vaseline. rub vaseline over heel. this acts as a lubricant. then get a pair of thin ankle socks and put those on. if you are super anal about heel blisters like me, invest in some of these: http://www.wrightsock.com/anti-blister.html you can get these all over the place online, like zappos. just google it. If you are wearing these under your normal socks instead of just normal runner socks, you are effectively wearing THREE layers. these socks are two super thin layers. Why so many layers? FRICTION TRANSFER. less friction against your skin. more friction between sock layers. FRICTION + SKIN = BLISTERS. if you want, you can even cover the heel of your ankle sock in more vaseline. NOW put on your normal soccer socks. you can even do one more layer of vaseline! you dont need to gob it on, thin layer will do. if you dont want to vaseline up your boot (which i wouldn't think would be so bad) then dont do that lol. last step: put on boot! another note: i notice in certain boots, from comparing where i got my blister to where my heel sits inside the cleat, some seams/stitching on the inside of the boot are the culprits causing the blister. there will be a piece of material stitched to another piece of material, or just a plastic seem piece glued inside that isnt smooth and rubs against your skin, causing the blister. what you can do is tape over that seam or stitching to make them smooth. If you have some other blister remedies, feel free to post them!
not true at all. i wear size 12s normally in shoes, and have worn size 11, 11.5, and 12s in copas, lasers, and preds, and pretty much got blisters in all of them. albeit some not as bad as others, but some people like me just have blister-prone feet.
you may have blister-prone feet... or you may have unusually shaped feet (and no one makes boots that properly fit you). but a lot of players wear boots that don't fit right. i expect this happens when players choose style over comfort. gives me an idea though... in the past year, 2 companies have started making boots (concave and underarmour)... they each had their gimmicks... but i'm thinking the best gimmick/concept for a boot company could be to make different boots for differently shaped feet. in other words, use several different lasts, so that every boot feels like a custom boot.
yes i have a feeling its either/or....probably both (blister prone feet + unusual foot shape).... i would assume though having several different lasts would get quite expensive for the company to produce. would be a great idea though... thats why i pretty much always wear k leather boots, because eventually they will conform to the shape of your foot. but before that happens on my feet, if i dont take the proper precautions i will definitely get blisters. thats why i at least put vaseline on my heel and double sock it everytime i get new boots or a pair is giving me blister trouble.
wright sock does not work on soccer cleats during good practice/games, it keeps moving around so please do not waste your money on this to try it out. I spent like 10 bucks on them from Arai store to throw them away after 1 game. If you go to sports authority look in the womens section of the store for thin under armour socks, some can cost as much as 15 bucks but they are supper thing and breathable socks. I bought some and use 2 socks. This thin ua sock and a normal thing soccer sock and it works great. Never gotten one blister from this.
For those who can't afford such products, simply covering your feet in vaseline before you play is a great way to prevent blisters. 1) Apply Vaseline to your feet. 2) Put on a thin layer of sock with comftorable padding (a hiking sock or any other sock that you may have lying around) 3) Some people even put a layer of vaseline on top of that sock (Persoanlly I dont) 4) Put on your soccer socks. Make sure theres no loose areas around your feet. 5) Put your shoes on tight, when they are loose theres more room for your feet to move and rub against your shoes. There are lots of great articles on pre-game preperation to go along with this. Hope this helps. Good luck with those blisters.
I am playing indoor football for four hours straight on a sunday and a thursday... i cant avoid blisters...i have done everything you ve mentioned on this thread.. do you think its the duration i am playing for..am i over doing it ?