Lace Bite in Hockey Players: Causes and Treatment

June 15, 2023 || Written by Katie Lakusta

Hockey is constantly changing and getting faster and faster—and your feet and legs need to be in optimal condition if you want to keep up with the flow of the game. Unfortunately, one of the most common foot ailments in hockey players is lace bite. If you’re experiencing pain or discomfort in the front of your ankle, especially when skating or flexing your foot, you may be suffering from this condition. In addition, leaving lace bite unaddressed can lead to various other issues, including significant swelling, or bumps. Lace bite discomfort can also be quite distracting, leaving you vulnerable to further ankle or foot injuries.

In this article, we’ll be exploring the causes, symptoms, and treatments for lace bite.

What is Lace Bite?

Lace bite is a common condition in hockey players and other athletes who wear tight-fitting footwear. This happens when the laces of your skate or shoe exert pressure or friction on the anterior ankle, leading to inflammation and discomfort. This inflammation can further lead to swelling and bruising, making it extremely difficult to skate or walk. Lace bite can go a step further even and aggravate the tendons, meaning you can even have pain just from flexing or extending with no pressure.

Lace bite can significantly affect a player's performance on the ice. The pain and discomfort associated with lace bite can restrict movement, decrease agility, and hinder overall playability. Players may experience difficulty in executing quick turns, pivots, and acceleration, affecting their on-ice effectiveness.

It can also become difficult to focus on the game with the significant amounts of persistent discomfort and pain that come with the ailment.

Causes

Some common lace bite causes include:

Poorly fitting skates or shoes; new skates or worn-down skates
Tight laces
Worn-out or frayed laces
Improper lacing technique
Flat feet or high arches
Not warming up, or getting back into skating after a long period of inactivity

Symptoms

If you're experiencing lace bite, you may notice the following symptoms:

Pain or discomfort in the front of your ankle
Swelling and bruising
Redness and irritation
Difficulty skating or walking
Numbness or tingling in your foot

Preventing Lace Bite

Preventing lace bite is easier—and definitely way more comfortable—than treating it. Here are some tips to help prevent lace bite.

Properly fitting skates or shoes

Make sure your skates or shoes fit properly and provide enough support. This is another major reason why it’s a good idea to consult with a skate professional when purchasing hockey skates; if your skates aren’t fitting properly, it not only makes it distracting or difficult to skate but also increases your chances of developing lace bite.

It might be hard to pick up a new pair of skates, especially when you’ve gotten used to your current ones, but it’s important to remember that lace bite can be especially detrimental for hockey players since tying your skates too tightly can be a potential cause for lace bite, but tying too loosely can weaken ankle support. If your skates’ current fit makes it difficult to alleviate the problem with one of the other following techniques, then it may be time to look into purchasing new skates.

Loosen your skate laces

This ties into the previous point and overlaps with the next, but another way to lower your chances for lace bite is to loosen your skate laces.

When you tie your skates too tightly, the laces create pressure points on the top of your foot and potentially friction, which can then lead to restricted blood flow and pinching of the nerves. This pressure can cause inflammation and irritation, ultimately leading to lace bite. In addition, tightly tied skates can cause your foot to be pushed forward in the skate, increasing the pressure on the top of your foot.

Change your lacing technique

Rather than just loosening your skates, you can adjust how you tie them. Some options you can try include:

Tying your laces outside-in rather than inside-out (at the eyelets).
Skip lace technique— this is when you skip an eyelet near where the pressure is for you.
Moving where you knot the laces (instead of in the middle, try placing the knot on the sides.

Additionally, you can also try using waxed laces. Waxed laces are tougher and can actually tie tighter, but while that might seem counterintuitive, it can actually be part of the benefit. With waxed laces, there is less movement, granting you greater control over tightening or loosening specific areas when adjusting your lacing technique. Consequently, you can rest assured that the laces will not shift and apply pressure to the affected area again.

Use lace bite pads or double socks

Consider using lace bite pads to prevent pressure on the top of your foot. Although using lace bite pads is good for treatment, you can also preemptively apply them to your skates or wear them under/over your socks to prevent the condition entirely. Some newer models of skates additionally use skate tongues with added protection over the anterior ankle that not only increase recoil (and therefore, offer more power on the stride) but also offer increased protection against lace bite and impact in that area.

See Lace bite pads under Treating Lace Bite for more information on supplementary padding. Also see our collection of Lace Bite Pads and Treatment in stock!

Photo by Terry Matthews on Unsplash

Regular maintenance

Check your skates or shoes regularly for frayed or worn-out laces and replace them as necessary. If your skates’ tongues are frayed along where the laces are tied, then you run the risk of developing lace bite—fortunately, many modern skates allow for easy tongue replacements.

Should your skates be a bit older, consider upgrading to a newer model, and we don’t just mean this as a hockey shop. If you are prone to lace bite and swelling on the ankle, upgrading your skates to a newer model or up a level can greatly lower your chance of developing these conditions, and could even be one of the best decisions you make overall. We highly recommend looking into skates with lace bite protection over the tongue, as well as those that allow for easy tongue replacement.

Treating Lace Bite

If you're suffering from lace bite, there are several treatments you can try.

Rest

Taking a break from skating or any other physical activity that exacerbates the pain can help relieve inflammation and discomfort. This option will ultimately be the best solution— but as fellow hockey players, we all know that not all of us will have the freedom to avoid playing and skating, at least for very long, while healing. Resting will still be good for at least one ice skate.

Ice

Applying ice to the affected area for 15-20 minutes several times a day can help reduce swelling and inflammation. To go about applying ice, you can either use a bag filled with ice to wrap around your ankle or apply an ice cup.

To set up an ice bag, fill a plastic bag with ice, then apply directly (if possible, and if you can bear it) to the ankle. If you can, try to suck out as much of the air from the bag as possible before applying, as doing so will make it easier to get the ice closer and more moldable around your ankle.

To create an ice cup, you can start by using a disposable cup and filling it about two-thirds full. Place the cup in the freezer until the contents are frozen solid. Once frozen, remove the cup and gently massage the affected area directly with the ice. This can help alleviate inflammation and provide relief.

Anti-inflammatory medication

Over-the-counter pain relievers such as ibuprofen or naproxen can help reduce pain and inflammation.

Make sure you read the labels on the medication before use and consult with a doctor if you aren’t sure if you can take certain remedies. When it comes to ibuprofen and other painkillers, it is crucial to consume them only after having a meal to avoid any potential side effects.

Stretching/Massaging the affected area

Stretching your calf muscles and flexing your foot can help alleviate pain and discomfort. Giving your ankle a good massage can also really help with reducing pain and loosening the tendons in the area. Please be gentle with the affected area; massage to some discomfort, but don’t overdo it or apply too much pressure.

Lacing technique

We touched on this earlier, but changing the way you tie your skate laces is a reliable way to alleviate the pain as well since the goal is to soothe the affected area. Changing your skate lacing technique can also make it so you don’t necessarily have to stop playing hockey altogether during recovery.

For examples of how to relace your skates, you can revisit the Lacing technique section in Preventing Lace Bite.

Lace bite pads

As noted previously, lace bite pads are designed to cushion and protect the top of your foot, so they can help reduce pressure and relieve pain. If you are suffering from lace bite but need to be on the ice, the extra padding is definitely a good idea.

The Hockey Shop has a wide array of lace bite pad and gel options, whether you’re looking for lace bite protection on your socks or a pad directly on your skate. Feel free to take a look at our collection of in-stock lace bite protection here.

Key Takeaways

Lace bite is a painful condition, especially when identified in the middle of a hockey game. It can cause discomfort, swelling, and difficulty in performance, both in skating and walking. By recognizing the causes, symptoms, and treatments for lace bite, you can prevent it from happening to you and alleviate its symptoms if it does occur. If you are experiencing symptoms of lace bite, it is vital that you take a break from physical activity, apply ice, take anti-inflammatory medication, and stretch regularly.

If you believe your skates are the problem, if you can, make sure to head to The Hockey Shop or a local hockey store to get new skates fitted properly to your feet. Our hockey skate professionals are all highly knowledgeable and will be more than happy to help you find the perfect skates for you. Some higher-end and more modern skates today also use modified skate tongues with lace bite padding for greater comfort and protection.

Remember—prevention is always better than treatment, so take care of your feet, and enjoy the game!

Sources/Further Reading

Lace Bite Nerd. “Spending a Year Testing Lace Bite Treatments for Hockey.” Lace Bite 101, 5 Feb. 2023, Source link.

Nall, Rachel. "How to Treat and Prevent Lace Bite." Healthline, medically reviewed by Angela M. Bell, 9 Dec. 2019, Source link.

Phillips, Chris. “From the Trainer’s Room: Have a Case of Lace Bite? Here’s How to Treat the Condition.” California Rubber, Mackinder Media, 16 Oct. 2020, Source link.

Pure Hockey Staff. “How to Deal With ‘Lace Bite’ From Hockey Skates.” Pure Hockey, 17 Sept. 2019, Source link.

ZenToes Editors. “Don’t Let Lace Bite Ruin Your Activities.” ZenToes, 2023, Source link.