Effects of basketball court construction and shoe stiffness on countermovement jump landings

Abstract

Foot-ground contact upon landing from a jump results in an impulsive impact force. Parameters of impact including vertical ground reaction force (vGRF), loading rate, tibial acceleration, and impact attenuation have been associated with lower limb injury risk. Differences in shoe stiffness and surface construction may influence impact loading and attenuation, but evidence is limited. The purpose of this study was to quantify the influence of basketball court surface construction and shoe midsole stiffness on ground reaction force, joint work, and acceleration measures during countermovement jump landings. Twenty-nine male collegiate and high school basketball players performed maximal countermovement jumps in each of three basketball shoes and on three wood court surfaces with varying compressive stiffness. Peak vGRF, vertical instantaneous loading rate, tibial and head acceleration, impact attenuation, and joint work at the ankle and knee were quantified. No differences in peak vGRF, loading rate, impact attenuation, or knee joint work were observed between surface or shoe conditions (p ≥ 0.056). Eccentric ankle work was lowest on the stiffest surface (p ≤ 0.014). Peak resultant tibial acceleration in the time domain and axial tibial high frequency signal power magnitude in the frequency domain were lowest in the most compliant shoe (p = 0.005 and p = 0.046, respectively). The few significant findings for shoe stiffness and the somewhat counterintuitive finding for surface suggest that shoe and surface stiffness have minimal effects on parameters associated with impact during countermovement jump landings.