[at-l] Insole article

[jbryankramer@xxxxxxx (J Bryan Kramer)]

I thought this may be of interest

Bryan

''War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things: the decayed and
degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks nothing worth a
war, is worse. A war to protect other human beings against tyrannical
injustice; a war to give victory to their own ideas of right and good, and
which is their own war, carried on for an honest purpose by their own free
choice - is often the means of their regeneration.'' JSM

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Knobbly insoles help save sports injuries


00:01 01 April 03

NewScientist.com news service

Knobbly rubber insoles worn inside sports shoes should reduce knee and ankle
injuries, according to Australian physiotherapists. The insoles radically
improve athletes' awareness of the orientation of their feet.

George Waddington and Roger Adams, at the University of Sydney, worked with
the Australian women's soccer squad to examine the players' sensitivity to
ankle movement. This ability is very important in avoiding stumbling and was
measured using a movable platform.

 Seventeen members of the soccer squad had both feet tested

Compared to when they were barefoot, the women's scores dropped
significantly when they wore their usual boots. But inserting the cheap
rubber insoles brought their performance back up to the barefoot level.

The smooth insoles and high shock-absorbing properties of conventional
sports shoes mask important pressure cues from the soles of the feet, says
Waddington. "In the past 10 to 15 years of shoe development, shock
absorption has been the focus of design. That is important for some sports,
such as running - but the process of interlinking to the natural sensory
system in the sole has been missing," he says.

Simon Bartold, a sports podiatrist at the University of South Australia,
welcomes the findings. "This study emphasises the ability of a relatively
simple intervention to positively influence athletic performance," he writes
in a commentary on the research."

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