High-quality Basketball Shoes Help Reduce The Risk of Injury

It's common knowledge that quality mens basketball shoes are supposed help reduce the risk of injury, but to what extent, if at all? The life of a student athlete can be rough. Not only do you have to keep up with grades and sports, but injuries are an unfortunate reality to contend with as well. Which is why it's important to do everything possible to minimize the chance of injury during competition. Choosing proper footwear for the court is a major component of that process.

The myth of the high top and ankle protection:Since the first iteration of the Converse All-Stars, the most popular type of basketball shoe has been the high top design. High top basketball shoes are designed with an extra layer of support around the ankle to provide stability during high intensity lateral movement.

However since their inception in 1917 ankle sprains remain the most prevalent basketball related injury.

And many players feel restricted with so much padding around their ankle. In 2007 Kobe Bryant famously met with his Nike design team after years of frustration with high and mid top sneakers and released the extremely low cut Kobe IV to much fanfare as well as a healthy dose of criticism.

The basketball shoes sparked a new wave of low cut basketball sneakers. Dr. Michael Lowe, former team podiatrist for the Utah Jazz and the University of Utah, as well as past president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, completely opposed the trend.

“If I see a player on one of my teams wearing a low, we'll talk about it. And I'll tell him that, in my opinion, this is putting you at a higher risk and there's really no reason for it.”

So what does the evidence say? In 2010 The American Journal of Sports Medicine found no correlation between different types of performance running shoes and ankle injury. Empirically there is no difference in protection between high, southwest office shoes. mid, and low top basketball southwest office shoes.

If there is no correlation between the type of basketball shoes and ankle injuries, how do you choose what basketball shoes to purchase?