Optimal physical performance and the absence of injury to athletes are essential for success in the sport of basketball. Functional footwear design concepts have been created by industry and academia with the aim of reducing the risk of injury and improving athletic performance in basketball. This scientific review explores and analyzes the effect of different basketball shoe design modifications
... [Show full abstract] on biomechanical changes of the athlete's lower extremity during typical basketball movements. Implications for injury prevention and performance in basketball are then discussed based on the findings of the effect of basketball shoe design modifications. A systematic literature search was conducted to find scientific studies on functional design concepts of the basketball shoe. After evaluating the literature search the results were categorized based on the following design modifications: cushioning systems, midsole hardness, midsole bending stiffness, torsional stiffness, collar height and shoe mass. Results: A softer basketball shoe cushioning system or softer midsole can minimize stressful impact forces on the athlete and reduce the risk of overuse injury especially during uncontrolled ground landings and high landing
heights. Cushioning systems or changes in midsole hardness of the basketball shoe can affect the magnitudes of ground reaction forces and plantar maximum pressures during basketball movements. Whether the effect of the higher basketball shoe upper significantly improves ankle stability and thus reduces ankle sprains cannot be clarified based on current data. Manipulating the bending stiffness of the basketball shoe's midsole can lead to improved performance in basketball movements. Also an improvement in performance of basketball movements can be expected up to a certain limit range of the traction coefficient due to an increase in the traction character-
istics of the outsole. Within the weight range of commercially available basketball shoes, mass does not influence basketball-specific performance in the non-fatigued athlete. However, reduced shoe mass can provide a positive performance effect assuming the reduced shoe mass is associated with positive expectations and beliefs. The presented articles prove that some designed construction concepts of the basketball shoe provide functional benefits during basketball play. Nevertheless there are discrepancies in the study results for "well-established" functional modification concepts such as cushioning systems, midsole hardness, midsole bending stiffness and basketball shoe upper height. The complex interrelationship between the various shoe modifications in the basketball shoe as well as the interaction with human factors makes the interpretation of the findings difficult. Further structured research will additionally provide understanding for basketball shoe development.