Does shoe heel design influence ground reaction forces and knee moments during maximum lunges in elite and intermediate badminton players?

Abstract

BackgroundLunge is one frequently executed movement in badminton and involves a unique sagittal footstrike angle of more than 40 degrees at initial ground contact compared with other manoeuvres. This study examined if the shoe heel curvature design of a badminton shoe would influence shoe-ground kinematics, ground reaction forces, and knee moments during lunge.MethodsEleven elite and fifteen intermediate players performed five left-forward maximum lunge trials with Rounded Heel Shoe (RHS), Flattened Heel Shoe (FHS), and Standard Heel Shoes (SHS). Shoe-ground kinematics, ground reaction forces, and knee moments were measured by using synchronized force platform and motion analysis system. A 2 (Group) x 3 (Shoe) ANOVA with repeated measures was performed to determine the effects of different shoes and different playing levels, as well as the interaction of two factors on all variables.ResultsShoe effect indicated that players demonstrated lower maximum vertical loading rate in RHS than the other two shoes (P < 0.05). Group effect revealed that elite players exhibited larger footstrike angle, faster approaching speed, lower peak horizontal force and horizontal loading rates but higher vertical loading rates and larger peak knee flexion and extension moments (P < 0.05). Analysis of Interactions of Group x Shoe for maximum and mean vertical loading rates (P < 0.05) indicated that elite players exhibited lower left maximum and mean vertical loading rates in RHS compared to FHS (P < 0.01), while the intermediate group did not show any Shoe effect on vertical loading rates.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that shoe heel curvature would play some role in altering ground reaction force impact during badminton lunge. The differences in impact loads and knee moments between elite and intermediate players may be useful in optimizing footwear design and training strategy to minimize the potential risks for impact related injuries in badminton.

Understanding the impact loading characteristics of a badminton lunge among badminton players

“…Reflective markers were placed over participants’ dominant leg according to a previous segment model [ 13 , 28 ]. After a standardized warm-up protocol including lower limb stretching exercises, participants familiarised themselves with the forward lunge step and tightened the lacings of the standard badminton shoes according to their individual preference for a badminton game.…”

“…A spline interpolation was performed to rectify minor missing data using three frames of data before and after the missing data. The marker trajectories and GRF data were filtered with a fourth-order Butterworth bidirectional filter at 12 Hz and 100 Hz, respectively [ 13 , 28 ]. The cut-off frequencies were determined by the smallest difference between the estimated and true signal values [ 30 ].…”

“…In brief, peak vertical and horizontal GRFs are defined as the local maximum of the vertical and horizontal GRF, respectively ( Fig 2 ). Vertical maximum loading rate is the maximum slope of the vertical GRF curve between the successive data points from 20% to 90% before the first peak impact [ 28 , 33 ]. Mean loading rate was calculated from 0% to 100% of the peak vertical GRF [ 28 , 33 ].…”

“…Vertical maximum loading rate is the maximum slope of the vertical GRF curve between the successive data points from 20% to 90% before the first peak impact [ 28 , 33 ]. Mean loading rate was calculated from 0% to 100% of the peak vertical GRF [ 28 , 33 ]. To allow comparison between groups, all variables related to GRF and knee moment data were normalized by the individual subject’s body weight (BW) and individual maximum lunge distance was normalized by the individual body height prior to further data processing [ 18 ].…”

Progresses of the Badminton equipment relate to exercise: Some training aspects

“…Chen and Zhu [40] analyzed on design of Lin Dan`s badminton shoes, suggested that special design in appearance, structure and processing technic were the biggest difference to compare with common badminton shoes. Recently, Lam et al [41], explored the in luence of shoe heel curvature on biomechanical parameters of lower extremities, result showed that shoe heel curvature played some role in variation of biomechanical parameters, and the difference in parameters may provide useful information for design of badminton shoes and prevention of injuries. This inding supported in luence results of badminton shoe heel on lower extremities by Li et al [15].…”