Effects of footwear variations on three-dimensional kinematics and tibial accelerations of specific movements in American football

Sinclair, JK; Rooney, E; Naemi, R; Atkins, SJ; Chockalingam, N

Abstract

American football is associated with a high rate of non-contact chronic injuries. Players are
able to select from both high and low cut footwear. The aim of the current investigation was to
examine the influence of high and low cut American football specific footwear on tibial
accelerations and three-dimensional (3D) kinematics during three sport specific movements.
Twelve male American football players performed three movements, run, cut and vertical
jump whilst wearing both low and high cut footwear. 3D kinematics of the lower extremities
were measured using an eight-camera motion analysis system alongside tibial acceleration
parameters which were obtained using a shank mounted accelerometer. Tibial acceleration and
3D kinematic differences between the different footwear were examined using either repeated
measures or Friedman’s ANOVA. Tibial accelerations were significantly greater in the low cut
footwear in comparison to the high cut footwear for the run and cut movements. In addition,
peak ankle eversion and tibial internal rotation parameters were shown to be significantly
greater in the low cut footwear in the running and cutting movement conditions. The current
study indicates that the utilization of low cut American football footwear for training/performance
may place American footballers at increased risk from chronic injuries.
Keywords: American football; footwear; chronic injuries; lower extremity; biomechanics.

Citation

Sinclair, J., Rooney, E., Naemi, R., Atkins, S., & Chockalingam, N. (2016). Effects of footwear variations on three-dimensional kinematics and tibial accelerations of specific movements in American football. Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology, 17(2), https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219519417500269

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 20, 2016
• Publication Date: May 24, 2016
• Deposit Date: Dec 7, 2017
• Journal: Journal of Mechanics in Medicine and Biology
• Print ISSN: 0219-5194
• Publisher: World Scientific Publishing
• Volume: 17
• Issue: 2
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1142/S0219519417500269
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1142/S0219519417500269
• Related Public URLs: http://www.worldscientific.com/worldscinet/jmmb