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Peak torque and rotational stiffness developed at the shoe-surface interface: the effect of shoe type and playing surface.

Livesay GA, Reda DR, Nauman EA

Department of Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, 5500 Wabash Avenue, Terre Haute, IN 47803, USA. livesay@rose-hulman.edu

BACKGROUND: Shoe-surface interactions have been implicated in the high number of noncontact knee injuries suffered by athletes at all levels. PURPOSE: To examine shoe-surface interactions on newer field designs and compare these with more traditional shoe-surface combinations. The peak torque and rotational stiffness (the rate at which torque is developed under rotation) were determined. STUDY DESIGN: Controlled laboratory study. METHODS: A device was constructed to measure the torque versus applied rotation developed between different shoe-surface combinations. Data were collected on 5 different playing surfaces (natural grass, Astroturf, 2 types of Astroplay, and FieldTurf), using 2 types of shoes (grass and turf), under a compressive load of 333 N. RESULTS: The highest peak torques were developed by the grass shoe-FieldTurf tray and the turf shoe-Astroturf field combinations. The lowest peak torques were developed on the grass field. The turf shoe-Astroturf combination exhibited a rotational stiffness nearly double that of any other shoe-surface combinations. CONCLUSION: The differences in the rotational stiffness across all 10 shoe-surface combinations were greater than those of the peak torques. It is possible that rotational stiffness may provide a new criterion for the evaluation of shoe-surface interface. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: An improved understanding of shoe-surface interactions remains a critical need to improve the design of shoe-surface combinations with the goal of meeting player needs while minimizing injury potential.

Published 1 March 2006 in Am J Sports Med, 34(3): 415-22.
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