Effects of Jump-Rope-Specific Footwear Selection on Lower Extremity Biomechanics

Footwear is among the most important equipment in sports to decrease injuries and enhance performance during exercise. In this study, we investigated differences in lower extremity plantar pressure and muscle activations during jump rope activities. Ten participants performed jump rope under two landing conditions with different footwear. A force platform (AMTI, 1000 Hz), a Novel Pedar-X system (Nove, 100 Hz), and a wireless electromyography (EMG) system (Noraxon, 1500 Hz) were used to measure biomechanical parameters during the jump rope exercise. Vertical ground reaction forces (vGRF), plantar pressure, and lower extremity muscle activations were analyzed. One-leg landing resulted in a significantly greater vGRF and shorter fly time than two-leg landing (p < 0.05). A significantly higher peak pressure and lesser toe (LT) area pressure was shown with the jumping shoe (all p < 0.05), but lower plantar pressure resulted in the middle foot area (p < 0.05). The EMG results of tibialis anterior (TA) were significantly greater with one-leg landing (all p < 0.05) during the pre- and background activity (BGA) phases. The results suggest that plantar pressure distribution should be considered when deciding on footwear during jump rope exercises, but care should be taken with regards to recovery after repeated collisions and fatigue. The jumping shoe provides benefits in terms of decreased plantar pressure sustained during jump rope exercises.