The effect of high‐top and low‐top shoes on ankle inversion kinematics and muscle activation in landing on a tilted surface

Abstract

BackgroundThere is still uncertainty concerning the beneficial effects of shoe collar height for ankle sprain prevention and very few data are available in the literature regarding the effect of high-top and low-top shoes on muscle responses during landing. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effect of high-top and low-top shoes on ankle inversion kinematics and pre-landing EMG activation of ankle evertor muscles during landing on a tilted surface.MethodsThirteen physical education students landed on four types of surfaces wearing either high-top shoes (HS) or low-top shoes (LS). The four conditions were 15° inversion, 30° inversion, combined 25° inversion + 10° plantar flexion, and combined 25° inversion + 20° plantar flexion. Ankle inversion kinematics and EMG data of the tibialis anterior (TA), peroneus longus (PL), and peroneus brevis (PB) muscles were measured simultaneously. A 2 × 4 (shoe × surface) repeated measures ANOVA was performed to examine the effect of shoe and landing surfaces on ankle inversion and EMG responses.ResultsNo significant differences were observed between the various types of shoes in the maximum ankle inversion angle, the ankle inversion range of motion, and the maximum ankle inversion angular velocity after foot contact for all conditions. However, the onset time of TA and PB muscles was significantly later wearing HS compared to LS for the 15° inversion condition. Meanwhile, the mean amplitude of the integrated EMG from the 50 ms prior to contact (aEMGpre) of TA was significantly lower with HS compared to LS for the 15° inversion condition and the combined 25° inversion + 20° plantarflexion condition. Similarly, the aEMGpre when wearing HS compared to LS also showed a 37.2% decrease in PL and a 31.0% decrease in PB for the combined 25° inversion + 20° plantarflexion condition and the 15° inversion condition, respectively.ConclusionThese findings provide preliminary evidence suggesting that wearing high-top shoes can, in certain conditions, induce a delayed pre-activation timing and decreased amplitude of evertor muscle activity, and may therefore have a detrimental effect on establishing and maintaining functional ankle joint stability.

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

“…8 The finding is also contrary to biomechanical studies that have shown increased levels of mechanical support in high cut shoes. 9,18,19,37,38 It does however support findings from Gottschalk & Pepple, 24 and Rovere et al 25 that high-cut shoes do not offer any advantage to low-cut shoes when protecting the ankle to excessive inversion. It is possible that the differences in results may relate to differences in task being performed and the size of the load being forced onto the ankle.…”

“…11,12,23 Further still, although the cut of the ankle is thought to be a risk factor for injury, there is still uncertainty concerning the beneficial effects of shoe collar height for ankle sprain prevention. 9 Gottschalk & Pepple, 24 found that high-cut shoes did not show greater prevention of ankle sprains compared to low-cut shoes especially for those who had no history of ankle sprains. Similarly, Rovere, Clarke, Yates and Burley 25 demonstrated that in comparison to low-cut basketball shoes, high-cut shoes were not more effective in reducing the incidence of ankle injury and further still fewest injuries were observed with low-cut shoes coupled with laced ankle stabilizers.…”

“…1,3 These characteristics contribute to players exhibiting a high frequency of injury compared to other team sports, 4 particularly at the lateral ankle, 5,6 which result from performing movements such as a "v-cut". [7][8][9][10] The occurrence of an initial injury then acts as a predisposing factor for recurrent injuries as well as chronic ankle joint instability and degeneration. 11,12 The lateral ligaments work alongside the peroneal muscles to control the level of lateral movement experienced by the ankle.…”

“…The degree of rearfoot inversion movement can also be influenced by level of plantar flexion the ankle is in; a greater range of rearfoot inversion movement is possible in plantar flexed compared to a dorsi-flexed position .17 To limit excessive lateral movement about the ankle, traditional basketball shoes are designed with high-cut ankle supports acting to limit the ankle movement. 18,19 Manufacturers however, have developed new designed shoes that are medium and low cut which are chosen by professional and semi-professional players based on individual preference relating to their playing position or stature. 20 Lowe 21 recommends changing footwear once a month, yet basketball shoes are expensive and not everyone can afford to by a pair.…”

Reduced muscle activity during isokinetic contractions associated with external leg compression

“…For EMG amplitude and frequency determination, raw signals were band-pass filtered at 10-500 Hz for EMG and then full-wave rectified [16]. For each of the entire 25 repetitions, the EMG amplitude (root mean square, EMG RMS ) was calculated over the middle third of each repetition based on a total range of motion of 90 • (a 30 • range of motion; 0.5 s for 60 • /s and 0.1 s for 300 • /s) during the concentric phase of the knee extension movement.…”