How Does Status of Longitudinal Arch of Feet Affect Sports Performances in Basketball Players in Iceland?

Abstract

Basketball is a highly anaerobic game, that consists of high-intensity efforts, such as jumping, landing, change of direction and sprinting, followed by lower-intensity efforts. Postural deformities can be a limiting factor in achieving maximal performances in basketball. Flat feet are one of the most common postural deformities and they can lead to poorer performances, discomfort, and pain. In this research we investigated the differences in certain sports performances among Icelandic basketball players in relation to the status of longitudinal arch of the feet. A sample of 143 basketball players (23 girls, age 12.7±1.4 and 97 boys, age 12.9±1.4 – development group; 14 women playing in the first Icelandic division, age 21±6.6 and 9 men, age 22.2±3.7 playing in the first Icelandic division) were tested on a podoscope to establish the degree of feet flatness and all participants performed countermovement jump, drop jump, 20m sprint and T-test for agility. To assign players in group with or without flat feet, Clark's angle has been used. Except in 20m sprint test, no differences were found between the groups with and without flat feet, which indicates that feet flatness was not a limiting factor in jumping and change of direction tasks but was in sprinting. We state that only strong and healthy feet might lead to excellent performance.