Abstract
Collar height investigations have been isolated to the motion of ankle inversion. The other ankle motions, specifically dorsiflexion, have been under investigated as it pertains to performance. Dorsiflexion range of motion when reduced has been linked to altered pronation patterns, increased ground reaction forces during landing and balance impairments. The current investigation combines known consequences of reduced dorsiflexion range of motion with commercially owned footwear to determine the relationship of collar effect and performance. Purpose To investigate the performance alterations of competitive basketball players relative to dorsiflexion range of motion restrictions augmented by collar height of high support and low support basketball footwear. Hypothesis An increase in collar height of shoes used by competitive basketball players will demonstrate negative effects on performance indicators directly related to dorsiflexion range of motion deficits by demonstrating: (1) an increase in time to completion of the agility t-test, (2) an increase in ground reaction forces during a drop landing, and (3) a decreased composite score of the star excursion balance test (SEBT). Methodology Eleven male competitive basketball players (Age 22.27 ± 2.1; Height 181.49 ± 10.12; Weight 84.19 ± 14.67; Years of Experience 8.82 ± 4.67; Shoe Size 10.91 ± 1.85) volunteered to participate in this study. This study utilized a repeated-measures design with all participants serving in both experimental groups (high top and low top) that were evenly matched. Each participant performed passive and active range of motion assessment with a goniometer and weight bearing lunge test, an agility t-test with videography, a drop landing with AMTI Force plate (Advanced Mechanical Technology, Inc, Watertown, MA) for ground reaction forces sampled at 1000Hz and Vicon Realtime Motion Software system (Vicon Motion Systems Ltd UK, West Way, Oxford), and a star excursion balance test for reach distances relative to limb length. A student’s paired-sample t-test, with a Bonferroni Post-hoc Correction was utilized to interpret the data. Differences were analyzed at the 95% Confidence Interval, with significance classified by an alpha level less than or equal to 0.05. Results The collar height negatively impacted passive (p=0.001) and active range of motion(p<0.001), time to complete an agility t-test (p=0.01) and posterior lateral reach distance in the star excursion balance test (p=0.04), with the total composite score approaching significance (p=0.06). Conclusion The results of this investigation suggest that dorsiflexion range of motion secondary to collar height effect is linked to balance and agility deficits in performance. No difference between force absorption can be concluded.