Segmented Forefoot Plate in Basketball Footwear: Does it Influence Performance and Foot Joint Kinematics and Kinetics?
in Journal of Applied BiomechanicsThis study examined the effects of shoes’ segmented forefoot stiffness on athletic performance and ankle and metatarsophalangeal joint kinematics and kinetics in basketball movements. Seventeen university basketball players performed running vertical jumps and 5-m sprints at maximum effort with 3 basketball shoes of various forefoot plate conditions (medial plate, medial + lateral plates, and no-plate control). One-way repeated measures ANOVAs were used to examine the differences in athletic performance, joint kinematics, and joint kinetics among the 3 footwear conditions (α = .05). Results indicated that participants wearing medial + lateral plates shoes demonstrated 2.9% higher jump height than those wearing control shoes (P = .02), but there was no significant differences between medial plate and control shoes (P > .05). Medial plate shoes produced greater maximum plantar flexion velocity than the medial + lateral plates shoes (P < .05) during sprinting. There were no significant differences in sprint time. These findings implied that inserting plates spanning both the medial and lateral aspects of the forefoot could enhance jumping, but not sprinting performances. The use of a medial plate alone, although induced greater plantar flexion velocity at the metatarsophalangeal joint during sprinting, was not effective in improving jump heights or sprint times.
Lam is with the Department of Kinesiology, Shenyang Sport University, Shenyang, China; and also with Li Ning Sports Science Research Center, Beijing, China. W.C.-C. Lee is with the School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia. W.M. Lee and Kong are with Physical Education and Sports Science Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Ma is with the Interdisciplinary Division of Biomedical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, China.
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