The effects of shoe collar height on ankle sprain mechanics in athletes: A review of literature

Background:

Our aim was to conduct a review to summarize the existing information regarding the effects of shoe collar height in altering ankle sprain mechanics in athletes.

Methods:

A systematic literature search of PubMed, Embase, MEDLINE, and SPORTDiscus was conducted in September 2019.

Results:

There were 10 studies published from 1993 to 2019 that were included. Most studies showed high-top shoes limited ankle sprain kinematics and increased resistance to inversion moment in static but not dynamic testing. High-top shoes were associated with delayed pre-landing ankle evertor muscle activation and smaller electromyography amplitudes.

Conclusions:

There is currently weak evidence to support that high-top shoes can limit ankle sprain kinematics in dynamic testing. Further studies with more consistent study interventions and outcome variables are needed to definitively establish the effects of shoe collar height on ankle sprain mechanics in athletes.

The Translational Potential of this Article:

Multiple studies on the effects of shoe collar height and ankle sprain mechanics have been performed but there is a lack of consistency in terms of study design, intervention, and outcome measures. A formal systematic review and meta-analysis were not applicable due to the heterogeneity of studies, and mixed results from these studies can be confusing to interpret, making further research on this topic difficult as a result of lack of future direction. We summarized the existing literature on this topic to provide a clearer picture and guide future research on this controversial matter.

Effects of weight bearing and non-weight bearing exercises on bone properties using calcaneal quantitative ultrasound

OBJECTIVE

This study was designed to investigate bone properties using heel quantitative ultrasound (QUS) in young adults participating in various sports.

METHODS

A cross sectional study was performed on Chinese male students (n = 55), aged 18-22 years. Subjects with previous fractures or suffering from any diseases known to affect bone metabolism or taking any medication with such an effect, were not included. The subjects were categorised according to their main sporting activities, including soccer (n = 15) (a high impact, weight bearing exercise), dancing (n = 10) (a low impact, weight bearing exercise), and swimming (n = 15) (non-weight bearing exercise). A sedentary group acted as controls (n = 15). A reproducibility study of the velocity of sound (VOS) and the broadband ultrasound attenuation (BUA) measurement was performed and analysed using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC).

RESULTS

There was good intra-investigator and inter-investigator agreement (ICC > or = 0.8; p < 0.05) in the measurement of BUA and VOS. No significant differences in BUA and VOS (p > 0.05) were found between the dominant and non-dominant heel. Soccer players (137 +/- 4.3 dB/MHz; 1575 +/- 56 m/s; 544.1 +/- 48.4) and dancers (134.6 +/- 3.7 dB/MHz; 1538 +/- 46 m/s; 503.0 +/- 37.0) had significantly higher BUA, VOS, and stiffness index (SI) scores (p < 0.05), respectively, than swimmers (124.1 +/- 5.1 dB/MHz; 1495 +/- 42 m/s; 423.3 +/- 46.9) and the sedentary control group (119.9 +/- 6.1 dB/MHz; 1452 +/- 41 m/s; 369.9 +/- 46.4). A trend of a significant linear increase with the weight bearing and high impact exercise was revealed in all QUS parameters (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

This cross sectional study indicated that regular participation in weight bearing exercise in young people might be beneficial for accruing peak bone mass and optimising bone structure.