Back on their feet

Weekend basketball players, especially those prone to foot and ankle problems, might want to consider orthotics.

The advice comes from the author of a recent study conducted at Duke University Medical Center that measured the impact of common basketball maneuvers on the foot.

Orthotics, shoe inserts typically prescribed by a podiatrist, were found to reduce the maximum force on the foot.

The sole supports also helped bolster the muscles that keep ankles from rolling inward, a common injury in basketball.

“Custom arch supports are going to help everyone from the NBA star to the weekend warrior,” said Dr. Joseph Guettler, who presented the results of the Duke study at last month’s annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery.

In the study, researchers put electronic sensors inside the shoes of 11 college basketball players and recorded the impact on their feet. The researchers also placed electromyography (EMG) sensors on two foot muscles to measure the level of electrical activity.

The players performed three common basketball moves: landing on one foot following a layup, changing direction 180 degrees during a side-to-side shuffle, and pivoting 180 degrees during a forward sprint.

Measurements were taken and compared when players were performing with and without orthotics.

In particular, researchers were interested in the force upon the fifth metatarsal, a bone on the outside of the midfoot between the ankle and the small toe.

Stress fractures to this small bone are common among college and pro players, whose careers are occasionally ended because of the injury.

“The fractures are tiny,” said Guettler, who conducted the study while a sports medicine fellow at Duke University. “But over time they can become one large fracture. It’s like shin splints in the foot.”

The results, which identified the landing after a layup as the most potentially damaging play, found orthotics significantly cushioned the impact to the feet.

As a further guard against injury, Guettler recommended that athletes with foot and ankle troubles consult their physicians about ankle-strengthening exercises.