|
Abstract
|
CONTEXT: Lateral ankle sprains are the most common injuries in high school sports. While ankle taping is a preferred method of external prophylactic support, its restrictive properties decline during exercise. The Under Armour® Highlight cleat is marketed on the premise that it provides added support without the need for additional ankle taping.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if differences in ankle joint laxity and postural control exist between football players wearing the Under Armour® Highlight cleat (Baltimore, MD) as compared to a low/mid-top cleat with ankle tape.
DESIGN: Crossover trial. SETTING: Athletic training room and football practice field sideline. PATIENTS: Thirty-two interscholastic American football players (15.8±1.0 yrs.; 178.9±7.4 cm; 87.1±21.4 kg). INTERVENTIONS: Ankle laxity was assessed using an instrumented ankle arthrometer (Blue Bay Research Inc., Milton, FL), while postural control testing was performed on the Tekscan MobileMat™ Balanced Error Scoring System (BESS) (South Boston, MA). The two treatments included Under Armour® Highlight cleats and a low/mid-top cleat with ankle tape applied to the non-dominant ankle only. Measurements were taken before and immediately after practice. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The independent variable was treatment (Highlight vs low/mid with ankle tape). Dependent variables included ankle arthrometry measures of anterior displacement (mm), inversion/eversion rotation (deg); and the modified BESS error scores. A linear mixed-effects model was used for analysis.
RESULTS: The mid/low-cut cleat with tape condition had significantly higher inversion range-of-motion (ROM) and inversion/eversion rotation post-exercise when compared to the Highlight cleat (p<0.05).
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide some evidence that the Under Armour® Highlight cleat restricts ankle ROM following a training session better than the taped low/mid-top cleat. Further study is warranted to determine if this high-top style of football cleat can reduce the incidence of ankle sprains and how it might compare to spat taping.
Language: en |