Textured insole effects on ankle movement discrimination while wearing athletic shoes

Aspects of athletic footwear were examined for their relationship to subjects' discrimination between different extents of inversion at the ankle. Testing was conducted separately on both feet with elite netballers who made discrete, active ankle movements while standing on an apparatus in an upright, non-restrained and weightbearing posture. Wearing conventional athletic socks only did not enhance discrimination over that achieved when barefoot. Movement discrimination scores were significantly worse when subjects wore their athletic shoes and socks, as compared to barefoot data collected at the same time. On the final occasion of testing, the addition of textured insoles to the shoes was found to restore movement discrimination back to barefoot levels. This outcome was interpreted in terms of enhanced cutaneous feedback, applying at the surface of the sole of the foot and the raised surface of the insole, serving to enhance feedback from movement. Across the 36 weeks of the study, movement discrimination scores for the barefoot condition showed significant improvement, a finding which is consistent with previous data gathered from athletes also engaged in wobbleboard training.