Understanding the Effect of High-Cut Shoes, Running Shoes and Prophylactic Supports on Ankle Stability When Performing a “V”-Cut Movement

Abstract

Ankle inversion injury is extremely common in basketball, whereby rearfoot inversion and ankle plantar flexion is greater in those with injury. The current study analysed the response of recreational basketball players to three different footwear conditions; high-cut basketball shoe, low-cut running shoe and low-cut running shoe with ankle brace. Ten recreational male basketball players performed 45° “v”-cut movements at an approach speed of 4.5m/s. Dependent variables included peak initial rearfoot inversion and ankle plantar flexion. Peak impact force was also measured due to the potential difference in cushioning provided by the footwear. Repeated measures ANOVA were used to compare dependent variables with statistical significance accepted at p < 0.05. Results indicated that there were no significant difference for plantar-flexion (F = 2.94, p > 0.05; Partial η2 = 0.25) and impact force (F = 3.189, p > 0.05, Partial η2 = 0.26).On the other hand, comparison of peak initial rearfoot inversion showed that there were significant differences between footwear conditions. Pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni adjustments showed significantly larger peak initial rearfoot inversion values for the high-cut basketball shoe compared to both the low-cut running shoe (p = 0.001) and the low-cut running shoe with brace condition (p = 0.001). Findings indicate the potential for using low-cut running shoes for recreational basketball without an increased injury risk.