Application of Orthopedic Insoles in Sports Football

Posted by Danielle Li on June 1st, 2019

Mechanical disorders of the foot are very common among professional football players. The common foot injury is plantar fasciitis caused by excessive pronation.

Another common injury of professional football players is sesamoid osteitis. Because the injured part is below the first plantar column, it has a great impact on football players. The main causes of sesamoid osteitis are excessive pronation of the forefoot and limited movement of the first metatarsal flexion or thumb (limited movement of the first metatarsal joint). Orthopedic football insoles are used to correct the relative position of forefoot skeleton, reduce the pressure of the first metatarsal column, and achieve the purpose of protecting the sesamoid bone.

Ankle lateral sprain is also common in professional football players, usually accompanied by forefoot valgus deformity. The shoes worn are also one of the important factors, because the football sole of the nails will sink into the ground, exercise will increase the varus force of the ankle joint, the possibility of varus sprain ankle joint will also increase.

Stress fractures associated with overuse are also common. Fractures usually occur at the tarsal and metatarsal bones, especially the stress fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone, which is a concern of professional football players.

As mentioned in medical literature, the biomechanical problems associated with a stress fracture of lower extremity include excessive pronation, unequal length of the lower extremity and increased genu valgus. Orthopedic football insoles can treat these symptoms and reduce the stress of the foot bone that causes a stress fracture.

Football insoles are also a major factor in stress fractures. The soles of football shoes are usually hard plastic, with little filler and no shock absorption function of general sports shoes. Because the sole nails are specially designed to sink into the ground, the existence of nails reduces the total area of impact that can be dispersed, so that the impact is concentrated through the nails to the foot. This is the biggest factor leading to a stress fracture of the first and fifth metatarsals.

Full-length orthopedic football insoles can provide additional filling and shock absorption under the metatarsal bone, reduce the load on the metatarsal part, and then reduce the possibility of a stress fracture.