Football boot insoles and sensitivity to extent of ankle inversion movement

G Waddington and R Adams

British Journal of Sports Medicine

Volume 37, Issue 2, 2003, Pages 170-175

Waddington and Adams, of the School of Physiotherapy at the University of Sydney, have investigated the effect of football boot insoles in relation to ‘ankle movement discrimination’ (the ability to move the ankle appropriately for the required conditions), in the Australian Women’s soccer team. Using an automated testing device, the authors concluded that sensory input was impaired when the players wore football boots compared to when they were barefoot, but that this sensory input could be enhanced if the players used textured insoles.

As increased ‘ankle movement discrimination’ is an attribute that may help to prevent ankle sprain injury. The authors suggested that textured insoles in boots and sports shoes could prevent the all too common foot and ankle injuries that plague athletes. While conventional boots and sports shoes, with a smooth insole, appear to mask vital sensory cues to the extremely sensitive soles of the feet, the use of textured insoles may enhance this relay of the proprioceptive system.

The authors claim that the inclusion of air cushions or gel cells in boots and trainers to absorb shock, only serves to make matters worse but, as this study didn’t examine this variable, this is merely conjecture. Although limited by a small sample size, the findings of this study may indicate that textured insoles have a role to play in the prevention of ankle injuries. Perhaps with more widespread use of textured insoles, more epidemiological evidence may emerge to provide stronger evidence on the effectiveness of this strategy in injury prevention.

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