Relationship between floating toe score and performance in track and field athletes

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Sports Science
• Podiatry

Background:

• Floating toes, a condition where toes lift off the ground, are increasingly studied for their potential impact on biomechanics.
• Understanding foot morphology variations is crucial for optimizing athletic performance and injury prevention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between floating toe prevalence and athletic performance in collegiate track and field athletes.
• To compare floating toe scores across different track and field disciplines (sprinters, jumpers, distance runners) and with a control group.
• To examine the correlation between floating toe scores and overall athletic performance metrics.

Main Methods:

• Plantar surface imaging using a specialized foot scanner to quantify the floating toe score.
• Inclusion of 422 collegiate track and field athletes (sprinters, jumpers, distance runners) and 136 controls.
• Utilizing the World Athletics score as a standardized measure of athletic performance.

Main Results:

• Collegiate track and field athletes exhibited significantly higher mean floating toe scores compared to controls (14.22 vs. 11.06, p < 0.05).
• Sprinters and jumpers demonstrated higher floating toe scores than distance runners (p < 0.05).
• A significant negative correlation was observed between floating toe score and athletic performance specifically in distance runners (r = -0.25, p = 0.006).

Conclusions:

• A higher prevalence of floating toes in track and field athletes suggests that fewer floating toes might offer a performance advantage in certain disciplines.
• Variations in floating toe scores exist across different track and field events.
• The findings indicate a nuanced, potentially beneficial role of pronounced floating toes in the athletic performance of distance runners.