The stability of low-top versus high-top basketball shoes.

BACKGROUND: Ankle sprains are one of the most common athletic injuries that occur in sports participation (Trevino, Davis, & Hecht, 1994). There has been numerous prevention strategies designed to decrease the occurrence of ankle sprains (Hume & Gerrard, 1998). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the stability of collegiate level basketball players wearing low-top and high-top basketball shoes. The researcher's hypothesis is that the high-tops will provide significantly greater stability than the low-tops. METHODS: Eleven intercollegiate basketball players from the University of Central Oklahoma served as subjects. MEASUREMENT: Average left-right excursion was recorded using the F-Scan Foot Pressure Mapping System (Tekscan, Boston, MA) as subjects performed three layups in low-top and high-top basketball shoes. The data will be inputted into PAWS version 18 for data analysis. The data were analyzed using a dependent t-test, alpha level of p=0.05. RESULTS: High-top shoes showed significantly greater stability than low-top shoes (left: t = -2.785, p = 0.019, right: t = -2.256, p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: The high-top shoes showed significantly greater stability than low-top shoes, as a result depending on the situation, high-top shoes may help prevent ankle sprains