Higher plantar pressure on the medial side in four soccer-related movements

Pui-lam Wong ^1*, Karim Chamari ², De Wei Mao ¹ and Ulrik Wisloff ³

¹ The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
² Research Unit ''Evaluation, Sport, Sant?', National Centre of Medicine and Science in Sport, Tunisia
³ Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: delwong{at}alumni.cuhk.net.

Accepted 4 December 2006

Abstract

Objective and Participants: The present study measured the plantar pressure in four soccer-related movements in 15 male soccer players (20.9 ± 1.3 years, 173 ± 4 cm, 61. 7 ± 3.6 kg).

Design: To record plantar pressure distribution, the players wore soccer shoes with 12 circular studs and with an insole pressure recorder device equipped with 99 sensors. Plantar pressure was recorded in five successful trials in each of the four soccer-related movements: running, sideward cutting, 45-degree cutting, and landing from a vertical jump. Each footprint was divided into 10 recorded areas for analysis.

Results: Compared with running at 3.3 m/s, maximal speed sideward cutting and 45-degree cutting induced higher peak pressure (p<0.05) under the second toe, medial forefoot, medial arch, and medial heel. The peak pressure of maximal jump landing was lower under the medial forefoot and lateral forefoot as compared to running (p<0.05). Pressure-time integral showed that sideward cutting and 45-degree cutting induced higher pressures (p<0.05) than running under all recorded areas, except for the lateral forefoot and the lateral arch. In all the four soccer-related movements, a higher pressure was found on the medial side of the plantar surface as compared to the lateral side.

Conclusions: These data suggest that the medial side of the plantar surface may be more prone to injuries, and that foot orthosis adoption, improved soccer shoe design, and specific muscle training could be considered to reduce pressure and subsequent injury risk.

Key Words: Football, Injury, Load, Shoe

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