Stresses in the plantar region for long‐ and short‐range throws in women basketball players

Abstract

This study aimed to assess plantar pressure pattern modifications caused by short- and long-distance shots in women basketball players. To this end, 24 experienced national- and regional-level basketball players performed 3 trials of 4 technical gestures (free throw, jump stop shot, three-point shot and lay-up) barefoot on a pressure platform placed in fixed positions on the court. Raw data were processed to calculate location and magnitude of pressure peaks in three sub-regions (forefoot, midfoot and rearfoot), and the increase ratio was calculated relative to plantar pressure measured during a static bipedal and unipedal upright stance. The results showed significant increases (p<0.001) in plantar pressure peaks in forefoot (but not midfoot and rearfoot) for all the gestures that involved the use of both legs. Particularly large increases were detected for the three-point shot. All three sub-regions underwent significant changes of the pressure peak in the case of lay-up (forefoot and rearfoot: p<0.001, midfoot: p=0.002). The high levels of contact stress detected for routinely performed technical gestures suggest that a detailed knowledge of changes in the physiological patterns of plantar stresses that take place during play is crucial in reducing the risk of foot injuries and establishing proper training and rehabilitation protocols.

Basketball lay-up – foot loading characteristics and the number of trials necessary to obtain stable plantar pressure variables

“…While comprehensive data in eight foot regions were presented, the results may be influenced by different footwear since participants wore their personal shoes. It should also be noted that most previous studies examined simulated basketball lay-ups in laboratory environment in which participants may not perform the task naturally (Guettler et al, 2006;Pau & Ciuti, 2013;Queen et al, 2009;Yu et al, 2007). To better understand foot loading characteristics during the lay-up, it will be beneficial to profile plantar pressure distribution using standardised footwear in a realistic basketball court setting.…”

“…A few studies have examined the foot loading characteristics during the lay-up (Guettler et al, 2006;Pau & Ciuti, 2013;Queen, Mall, Nunley, & Chuckpaiwong, 2009;Yu et al, 2007). Guettler and colleagues (2006) and Yu and co-workers (2007) reported conflicting results on KEYWORDS performance stability; sequential estimation; force; peak pressure; pressure-time integral plantar forces or pressures with and without the use of orthoses during simulated lay-ups.…”

“…Here, stability of a performance refers to the repeatability of a variable across repeated trials over time (James et al, 2007). Earlier studies on plantar loading during basketball tasks either did not specify how many trials were used (Guettler et al, 2006), or averaged from three (Pau & Ciuti, 2013;Yu et al, 2007) to five (Queen et al, 2009) trials arbitrarily. It remains uncertain whether the data obtained were sufficient to represent typical loading behaviours.…”

“…It was hypothesised that (1) the loading patterns would vary across the different lay-up steps with higher loads at the heel and forefoot regions (Pau & Ciuti, 2013) and (2) stability of the data would improve with the number of trials used to calculate the mean, until a point beyond which further increasing the number of trials would not influence the mean value substantially.…”

“…Both studies only reported data specific to the fifth metatarsal area. Pau and Ciuti (2013) profiled the plantar pressure of the forefoot, mid-foot, and rearfoot during the lay-up in female basketball players. The lay-up tasks, however, were performed barefooted which may not reflect foot loading while wearing shoes.…”