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Heel movement within a court shoe
C Reinschmidt1, A Stacoff, E Stüssi
1Biomechanics Laboratory, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Schlieren.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|December 1, 1992
Summary
Shoe markers do not accurately track foot inversion and eversion during lateral movements. Heel movement within court shoes is similar to barefoot motion, suggesting shoe markers are poor indicators of injury risk.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Sports Medicine
- Footwear Technology
Background:
- Estimating inversion/eversion, key indicators of potential lower limb injuries, typically relies on angular displacement of markers on the leg and shoe.
- Current methods may not accurately reflect the true foot and heel position during dynamic movements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare shoe movement with internal heel movement during lateral stepping.
- To determine if shoe-based markers adequately represent heel position for injury risk assessment.
Main Methods:
- Lateral side-stepping movements were filmed from behind.
- Two windows were integrated into the shoe's heel counter, allowing simultaneous observation of both shoe and heel position.
- Angular displacement of the heel within the shoe and the shoe itself was measured.
Main Results:
- A statistically significant difference was found between shoe and heel position during lateral movements.
- Average maximum heel inversion within the shoe was 13.3 degrees, contrasting with 30.7 degrees for the shoe itself.
- Maximum heel inversion during barefoot movement was 10.1 degrees, closely resembling in-shoe heel movement.
Conclusions:
- Shoe markers are inaccurate for representing heel position during lateral movements.
- Internal heel motion within footwear closely mimics barefoot motion.
- Skin markers on the heel, viewed through shoe windows, provide a more accurate measure of calcaneus position than shoe-mounted markers.