Effect of Shoe and Surface Stiffness on Lower Limb Tendon Strain in Jumping

Abstract

Background Tendinopathies are painful overuse injuries observed in athletes participating in jumping sports. These injuries are heavily dependent on the resulting strain from the applied mechanical load. Therefore, mechanisms to reduce tendon strain may represent a primary prevention strategy to reduce the incidence of tendinopathy. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of shoe and surface stiffness on Achilles and patellar tendon strains during jumping. We hypothesized that less stiff shoes and surfaces would reduce Achilles and patellar tendon strains during jumping. Methods Thirty healthy male basketball players performed countermovement jumps in three shoes and on three surfaces with different stiffness properties while motion capture, force platform, and jump height data were collected. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to obtain participant-specific tendon morphology, and a combined dynamometry/ultrasound/electromyography session was used to obtain tendon material properties. Finally, a musculoskeletal model was used to estimate tendon strains in each surface and shoe combination. Results Achilles tendon strains during landing were reduced by 5.3% in the least stiff shoe compared with the stiffest shoe (P = 0.021) likely due to in bending stiffness altering the center of pressure location. Furthermore, Achilles tendon strains during landing were 5.7% and 8.1% lower on the stiffest surface compared with the least stiff and middle stiffness surfaces, respectively (P ≤ 0.047), because of changes in ground reaction force magnitude and center of pressure location. No effects of shoe stiffness or surface construction were observed for jump height (P > 0.243) or peak patellar tendon strains (P > 0.259). Conclusions Changes to shoe stiffness and surface construction can alter Achilles tendon strains without affecting jump performance in athletes.

Effects of Surface Properties on Gastrocnemius Medialis and Vastus Lateralis Fascicle Mechanics During Maximal Countermovement Jumping

“…In accordance with recent studies on both indoor and outdoor sport surfaces ( Malisoux et al, 2017 ; Firminger et al, 2019 ; Hatfield et al, 2019 ), jump height was not affected by the type of surface during CMJs. A recent study reported no difference between two different natural turf, an artificial turf, and a force plate ( Hatfield et al, 2019 ) during vertical jumping.…”

“…During terrestrial locomotion, the surface/substrate is loaded under the body weight and can act like as an additional spring in series affecting movement efficiency ( Bosco et al, 1997 ; Ferris and Farley, 1997 ; Kerdok et al, 2002 ), intrinsic stability ( Daley and Biewener, 2006 ), energy dissipation ( Hollville et al, 2019 ), and/or performance ( McMahon and Greene, 1979 ; Arampatzis et al, 2004 ; Reynaga et al, 2019 ). However, it seems that in humans, varying common indoor and outdoor sports surfaces do not improve or impair maximal jumping and sprinting performance ( Stafilidis and Arampatzis, 2007 ; Malisoux et al, 2017 ; Firminger et al, 2019 ; Hatfield et al, 2019 ). The main reason is probably due to the low contribution of these standardized sports surfaces to the total mechanical work performed by the human body during maximal motor tasks ( Arampatzis et al, 2004 ; Stafilidis and Arampatzis, 2007 ).…”

“…Humans adjust the way they move depending on the mechanical behavior of the surface ( Arampatzis et al, 2004 ; Stafilidis and Arampatzis, 2007 ). Surface mechanical behavior is fixed and determined by surface material properties dependent on surface construction ( Stafilidis and Arampatzis, 2007 ; Firminger et al, 2019 ). While classical body and joint dynamics analyses could not be sufficient to explore such adjustments, they might be detected from neuromuscular and MTU mechanics measures ( Hollville et al, 2019 ).…”

The Effects of Increased Midsole Bending Stiffness of Sport Shoes on Muscle-Tendon Unit Shortening and Shortening Velocity: a Randomised Crossover Trial in Recreational Male Runners

“…A dynamometry and ultrasound session [30] was performed immediately before the biomechanical testing to estimate the moment arm of the sMTU (MA sMTU ; i.e. Achilles tendon moment arm).…”

Increasing the midsole bending stiffness of shoes alters gastrocnemius medialis muscle function during running

“…Mechanical work performed by the GM fascicles was calculated as the integral of fascicle force and fascicle length change over the entire stance phase. Achilles tendon force was estimated based on a previously described musculoskeletal model 18 , 50 , 51 . For this, the sagittal plane ankle joint moment was divided by the AT moment arm.…”