To determine if the height of a basketball shoe alters the maximal inversion and eversion moment that can be actively resisted by the ankle in the frontal plane, we tested 20 healthy, young adult men with no recent ankle injuries. Subjects underwent unipedal functional ankle strength testing under weightbearing conditions at 0 degrees, 16 degrees, and 32 degrees of ankle plantar flexion using a specially designed testing apparatus. Testing was performed with the subject wearing either a low- or a three quarter-top basketball shoe. Shoe height did not significantly affect an individual's ability to actively resist an eversion moment at any angle of ankle plantar flexion. However, tests at 0 degrees of ankle plantar flexion demonstrated that the three quarter-top basketball shoe we tested significantly increased the maximal resistance to an inversion moment by 29.4%. At 16 degrees of ankle plantar flexion, inversion resistance was also significantly improved by 20.4%. These results show that athletic shoe height can significantly increase the active resistance to an inversion moment in moderate ankle plantar flexion. The findings apply to a neutral foot position in the frontal plane, an orientation equivalent to the early phase of a potential ankle sprain.

We measured the maximal isometric eversion moment developed under full weightbearing in 20 healthy adult men (age, 24.4 ± 3.4 years; mean & p l u s m n ; SD) with their ankles in 15° of inversion. Tests were performed at both 0° and 32° of ankle plantar flexion in low-and in three-quarter-top shoes with and without adhesive athletic tape or one of three proprietary ankle orthoses. At 0° of ankle plantar flexion, the mean maximal voluntary resistance of the unprotected ankle to an inversion moment was 50 & p l u s m n ; 8 N-m; this increased by an average of 12% (or 6 N-m)

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Nanocomposites are a class of materials that use molecular-sized particles for reinforcing the polymer matrix. These materials blend an organoclay with polymer to produce a composite with physical and mechanical properties equal to or better than their conventionally filled counterparts but at lower filler loadings. Occasionally, when the processing conditions are not optimized, compaction of the filler materials can occur. This agglomeration of the filler can affect the final properties of the composite by lowering the effective filler concentration and by the creation of stress risers around these agglomerates. This paper addresses the role of extrusion processing as it relates to the dispersion of the organoclay filler. Polym. Eng. Sci

Maximum isometric ankle inversion and eversion muscle strengths were measured under full unipedal weightbearing in 20 healthy young adult women. When the women wore a low-top shoe, the mean (standard deviation) maximum external eversion moments resisted with the foot in 0 degrees and 32 degrees of ankle plantar flexion were 24.1 (7.6) and 24.1 (8.1) N x m, respectively, while the corresponding values for maximum inversion moments resisted were 14.7 (6.8) and 17.4 (6.4) N x m, respectively. Both shoe height and ankle plantar flexion affected the overall inversion moment resisted by 17% (P = 0.03) at 0 degrees of ankle plantar flexion to 11.9% (P = 0.003) at 32 degrees of ankle plantar flexion. However, neither shoe height nor ankle plantar flexion significantly affected the maximum eversion moment resisted. Although eversion muscle strength of the young women averaged 39% less than the corresponding value found in young men, the sex difference was not significant when ankle strengths were normalized by body size (body weight x height). Thus, when data from healthy young men and women were averaged, eversion and inversion strengths averaged 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively, of body weight x height.