Shoe firm tackles ankle sprains

By: Joe Ayling - 3 September 2010 16:05

US footwear firm Ektio claims to have created a basketball shoe that combats one of sport's most common injuries - the sprained ankle.

It works by virtue of straps within the wall of the footwear, Ektio says, with former player John Starks endorsing the US$200 shoe. With this price range it is only likely to attract the very top professional players when it goes on sale this November.

Starks says: "In 2009, NBA teams lost $15m in revenues alone from this specific injury. It happens every year. This is the first shoe I've ever seen that could change all that. I have had many ankle sprains in my career and they were debilitating, painful and made getting back to the court very difficult."

Now, aside from the odd game with just-style office staff in our local leisure centre, my experience of playing basketball is as limited as most British people.

However, on the rare occasions I have played, the dreaded ankle roll is always at the back of the mind and Dr Barry Katz' idea would appear to 'have legs'. My experiences recovering from sprained ankles playing football suggest that strengthening the joint is the best solution though, rather than providing support?

Katz describes Ektio's shoe as a halfway house between this and the traditional brace though. "Our ability to protect against shoe rollover inversions while, at the same time not adversely affecting athletic performance, is the key to the product's revolutionary benefits," he adds.