Ankle brace attenuates the medial-lateral ground reaction force during basketball rebound jump

Abstract

Introduction: The jump landing is the leading cause for ankle injuries in basketball. It has been shown that the use of ankle brace is effective to prevent these injuries by increasing the mechanical stability of the ankle at the initial contact of the foot with the ground. Objective: To investigate the effects of ankle brace on the ground reaction force (GRF) during the simulation of a basketball rebound jump. Method: Eleven young male basketball players randomly carried out a simulated basketball rebound jump under two conditions, with and without ankle brace (lace-up). Dynamic parameters of vertical GRF (take-off and landing vertical peaks, time to take-off and landing vertical peaks, take-off impulse peak, impulse at 50 milliseconds of landing, and jump height) and medial-lateral (take-off and landing medial-lateral peaks, and time to reach medial-lateral peaks at take-off and landing) were recorded by force platform during rebound jumps in each tested condition. The comparisons between the tested conditions were performed by paired t test (P<0.05). Results: The use of ankle braces reduced the medial and lateral peaks of the GRF by -15.7% (P=0.035) and -24.9% (P=0.012), respectively, during the landing of the rebound jump. Additionally, wearing the brace did not affect any dynamic parameters of vertical GRF or temporal parameters of the medial-lateral GRF (P>0.05). Conclusion: The use of ankle brace during basketball rebound jumps attenuates the magnitude of medial-lateral GRF on the landing phase, without changing the vertical GRF. This finding indicates that the use of brace increases the medial-lateral mechanical protection by decreasing the shear force exerted on the athlete's body without change the application of propulsive forces in the take-off and the impact absorption quality in the landing during the basketball rebound jump.

Effect of soft and semi-rigid ankle braces on kinematic and kinetic changes of the knee and ankle joints after forward and lateral drop landing in healthy young women

“…However, it is more likely that factors other than structural support play an important role to restrict appropriate range of motion of ankle joint after landing. Castro et al [4] reported similar results regarding the loading of impact forces in basketball players. These measurements will be made in a future study.…”

Effects of Wearing an Ankle Brace on Ground Reaction Forces During Jumps in Basketball Game Simulation

“…The participants of this study were the same from our previous publication (11 amateur young male basketball players under-18, idade: 17,1 ± 0,1 anos; massa corporal: 75,6 ± 9,0 kg; estatura: 183,3 ± 8,7 cm), 8 including three guards, three centers and five forwards. The sample characteristics have been described in details previously.…”

“…The sample characteristics have been described in details previously. 8 Briefly, all participants were free from: ankle and foot injuries in the last 12 months; mechanical ankle instability; and functional ankle instability. 8 All participants read and signed an informed consent form approved by the institutional review board (# 014/2011) and conducted in conformity with the Declaration of Helsinki, revised in 2008.…”

“…[4][5][6] However, results in literature on other biomechanics variables involved in the jump, such as the ground reaction force (GRF) are contrasting. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] For instance, Sacco et al 9 and Castro et al 8 demonstrated decreased mediolateral GRF during jump takeoff and landing, respectively, in basketball players wearing ankle brace, without changes in vertical GRF. Riemann et al, 12 Cordova et al 11 and Simpson et al 10 showed increased loading rate of vertical GRF and reduced time to peak vertical GRF, while DiStefano et al 4 did not observed any changes in the vertical GRF, during drop landing task wearing ankle brace.…”

“…To investigate the mechanical loads during vertical jumps in situations representative of basketball game conditions is important for understanding of vertical jump-related ankle injuries in basketball players 8,9 and provide a more practical assessment of the effects of the use ankle bracing in basketball game. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of wearing an ankle brace on GRF during vertical jumps during an exercise protocol that simulated the intensity and induced-fatigue by a basketball game.…”