The Influence of Lateral Wedged Insoles on the Performance of Basketball-Specific Movements
Date
2023-09-21
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Abstract
Basketball is a dynamic sport known for its fast-paced and multidirectional nature. The implementation of banking mechanisms has demonstrated performance enhancements and the potential to mitigate ankle and knee injury risks during non-linear movements. However, existing banking mechanisms used in a sport setting are often impractical for basketball. Lateral wedged insoles may be a promising alternative to address this challenge. The aims of this study were to assess the influence of lateral wedged insoles on the performance of basketball-specific movements and to observe any changes at the ankle or knee related to injury risk. Twenty-four collegiate basketball players (twelve females and twelve males) performed a shuffle, forward cutting, backward cutting, and sprinting drills, both with and without a 5° lateral wedged insole in their footwear. Performance times, subjective assessments, medial-lateral sway of the centre of mass, ground reaction forces (GRFs), as well as angles and moments of the left ankle and knee were compared using two tailed paired t-tests. Across all movements, completion time, ankle inversion angles, and knee frontal plane kinetics and kinematics remained unchanged. In the shuffle drill, the lateral wedge condition led to increased ankle plantarflexion moments, higher medial and vertical GRFs, and improved GRF vector alignment, resulting in reduced stance time. An increase in the average ankle eversion moment was observed, with no change in the peak value. While minor kinetic changes were observed in the forward and backward cutting drills with the lateral wedge condition, stance time remained unchanged. The lateral wedged insole had no impact on medial-lateral sway of the centre of mass, or the sagittal plane kinematics and kinetics during the sprint, suggesting that 5° lateral wedged insoles do not influence the performance of linear movements. In subjective assessments, participants expressed greater confidence in non- linear movements and improved stability with the lateral wedge condition, however, they rated the comfort of this condition significantly lower. The results indicate that lateral wedged insoles may induce modifications that could potentially enhance performance without changing the risk of ankle or knee joint injuries during lateral movements.
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Keywords
Lateral wedged insoles, Biomechanics, Basketball, Performance
Citation
Crawford, R. C. (2023). The influence of lateral wedged insoles on the performance of basketball-specific movements (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.