The purpose of this study was to examine the differences in the squat kinematics and kinetics while wearing two different types of footwear. Ten men that compete at a collegiate level of powerlifting participated in the study. The participants performed the squat in both Chuck Taylor (flat soled) and Adidas (raised heel) shoes 3 times per shoe at 80% of 1 RM. During the testing sessions, sagittal plane kinematics of the shank were measured using 2-D video analysis. A force plate was used to measure the ground reaction forces of the right foot. There was no significant difference (p>0.05) in the medial lateral ground reaction forces (raised heel 63.58 N, flat soled 65.79 N), or the shank angles (raised heel 67.4 degrees, flat soled 65.7 degrees) of the participants. In conclusion, the participants were able to accommodate for a 1 inch raised heel in their shoe without altering shank position of medial-lateral ground reaction forces. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

After investigating the injury mechanism, this dissertation aims to design an intelligent sprain-free sports shoe for the prevention of sport-related ankle sprain injury. It consists of a three-step mechanism: (1) Sensing, (2) Identification, and (3) Correction. The progress of this dissertation covers two options of sensing and identification. The first option is to monitor the ankle spraining motion with the ankle inversion angle. A method to employ two tiny inertial and magnetic sensors at the shank and foot segment is adopted as the sensing system. A laboratory study is conducted to obtain ankle inversion magnitude and velocity during various sport motions. Together with the article kinematics reported in the accidental sprain case report, a standard for identifying ankle sprain is established. The second option is to monitor the ankle spraining motion with the ankle supination torque. A feasible method to estimate the complete ground reaction forces with the information from pressure insoles is presented. Then, a tiny in-shoe three-pressure-sensor system is devised to monitor the ankle supination torque during sport motions. With the information of failure torque at the ankle joint reported by previous cadaveric study, an identification system of the ankle supination torque is devised. / Ankle sprain injury is the most common single type of sport-related musculoskeletal trauma which causes rupture and tear to the anterior talofibular ligament and ankle instability. In this dissertation, a new paradigm, "Orthopaedic Sport Biomechanics", is proposed to present the role of biomechanics in the practice of orthopaedics sports medicine, including the analysis of injury mechanism, and the design of prophylactic equipment for injury prevention. To directly investigate the injury, a case report of an accidental injury event in laboratory is presented. It was found that an internally rotated ankle orientation at foot strike may predispose the ankle joint to a supination sprain injury, by triggering lateral drift of the rearfoot and the subsequent vigorous inversion. At injury, the ankle joint reached an inversion of 48 degrees and an internal rotation of 10 degrees. / Future studies on the sensing and identification process, the correction, and the final evaluation are suggested. We hope that we could really invent the sprain-free shoe to help reducing the incidence of ankle sprain injury in sports in future. / Fong, Tik Pui Daniel. / Adviser: Kai-Ming Chan. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: B, page: 3635. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-127). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / School code: 1307.

The ankle sprain is a common injury in basketball. A mechanism for this injury occurs when landing improperly from a jump. The concept of wedge and flare designs in shoes is (1) to offer benefit in reducing the potential for an ankle sprain while (2) not hindering performance or usability concerning basketball movements that are needed for successful play. The purpose was to take conceptual designs of the wedge and flare through an iterative design process. Therefore, the objectives were to fabricate shoe prototypes with these conceptual designs, to test the performance of these prototypes, and to develop the next iteration of design based upon the results of testing. The results of this design process are discussed.