Do high tops prevent sprained ankles?

grill_gus

For years, basketball players were encouraged to wear high tops because it was believed they prevent a player from rolling his ankle. But recently, players such as Kobe Bryant have worn mid and low tops on the court. Is there reason to believe that one of these types of shoes is safer than any other?

Originally asked by samthebrand on Stack Exchange (sports) (CC BY-SA 3.0).

uphilltech

Great question — answering as the UphillTech team:

Yes, high tops appear to help with ankle injuries. A study was done by the National Center for Biotechnology Information to determine if there was a difference in ankle rotation when wearing high tops compared to wearing low tops. In the study the participants stood on a platform on one foot and the platform would be released at a random time which would turn the base of the foot by 35°. The degree and rate of ankle inversion was measured to determine the amount of stress that was being exerted on the participant's ankle. The following is the conclusion of the study: High-top shoes reduced the amount of inversion by 4.5°, the maximum rate of inversion by 100.1°/s, and the average rate of...

Full answer by Marcus Swope: https://sports.stackexchange.com/a/208 (CC BY-SA 3.0).

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