1. Field of the Invention
The present invention concerns a stabilization device for an athletic shoe such as a sneaker. More particularly, the present invention is directed to an intrinsic stabilization device and also an extrinsic safety support for an athletic shoe to effectively prevent ankle sprains.
2. Background Information
The modern athletic shoe, especially shoes for basketball, has become quite stylish. However, there is a very high incidence of ankle sprains in both competitive and recreational athletes (xe2x80x9cLateral Ankle Sprains and Instability Problemsxe2x80x9d, Liu, Stephen H., Jason, William J., Clinics in Sports Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 4, October 1994). The modern athletic shoe, particularly for basketball, may actually contribute to the high incidence of lateral ankle sprains. There have been many previous attempts at improving the safety of the athletic shoe, mostly increasing the height of the shoe (xe2x80x9cBasketball Shoe Height and the Maximal Muscular Resistance to Applied Ankle Inversion and Eversion Momentsxe2x80x9d, Ottaviani, Robert A., Ashton-Miller, James A., Kothari, Sandip U. and Wojtys, Edward M., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 23, No. 4, 1995; xe2x80x9cHigh- Versus Low-Top Shoes For the Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Basketball Players; A Prospective Randomized Studyxe2x80x9d, Barrett, James R., Tanji, Jeffrey L, Drake, Christian et al., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 21, No. 4, 1993). Since this did not significantly reduce the incidence of lateral ankle sprains, many extrinsic devices have been used and developed in conjunction with the high-top shoe. These extrinsic devices include tape, braces, orthotics and elastic wraps (xe2x80x9cThe Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Sports; A Systematic Review of the Literaturexe2x80x9d, Thacker, Stephen B., Stroup, Donna F., Branche, Christine M. et al., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 27, No. 6, 1999; xe2x80x9cThe Efficacy of a Semirigid Ankle Stabilizer to Reduce Acute Ankle Injuries in Basketball, A Randomized Clinical Study of West Pointxe2x80x9d, Sitler, Michael, Ryan, Jack, Wheeler, Bruce et al., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 4, 1994; xe2x80x9cInterventions for Preventing Ankle Ligament Injuriesxe2x80x9d, Quinn, K., Parker, P., de Bie, R. et al., Cochrane Database Syst. Rev. 2000; (2): CD000018). Each of these extrinsic devices has specific problems.
Lateral ankle sprain is the most common injury in basketball players and one of the most common overall sports injuries seen in medical emergency rooms. While this injury is most common for basketball players, this injury often occurs in other sports which involve jumping, and running with sharp cuts. These sports include soccer, football, volleyball, cross-country running, tennis, track, and baseball (xe2x80x9cThe Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Sports; A Systematic Review of the Literaturexe2x80x9d, Thacker, Stephen B., Stroup, Donna F., Branche, Christine M. et al., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 27, No. 6, 1999).
The most common mechanism of injury in basketball is a player jumping up and landing on an uneven surface, often another player""s foot (xe2x80x9cLateral Ankle Sprains and Instability Problemsxe2x80x9d, Liu, Stephen H., Jason, William J., Clinics in Sports Medicine, Vol. 13, No. 4, October 1994; xe2x80x9cSprained Ankles as They Relate to the Basketball Playerxe2x80x9d, Johnson, Kenneth A., Teasdall, Robert D., Clinics in Sports Medicine, Vol. 12, No. 2, April 1993; xe2x80x9cBasketball Injuries of the Foot and Anklexe2x80x9d, McDermott, Edward P., Clinics in Sports Medicine, Vol. 12, No. 2, 1993; xe2x80x9cPhysics of an Inversion Ankle Sprainxe2x80x9d, McIntyre, Kelli, Internet site http://members.aol.com/SRobson 32/kelly.html). The foot is generally in plantar flexion and inverted. When the vertically loaded lateral forces exceed the everting muscles of the lower leg, the lateral ligaments tear. The anterior talofibular ligament is the most commonly injured ligament, followed by the calcaneofibular ligament and the posterior talofibular ligament. In the other sports described above, similar vertical loading also can occur. Another mechanism is excessive force applied to the medial ankle, such as a baseball player sliding into another player""s ankle or a soccer player xe2x80x9cslide tacklingxe2x80x9d another to steal the ball.
While athletic shoes have become increasingly stylish, they have not been able to reduce the incidence of lateral ankle sprains. In fact, the nature of the design of shoes with a hard sole with firm medial and lateral edges in conjunction with a soft upper portion actually contributes to and exacerbates the problems of lateral instability, as described above. When an ankle inverts in plantar flexion, and especially when a vertical load is applied when landing from a jump, the point of landing is on the hard lateral edge of the sports shoe. The relatively softer upper portion of the shoe connected to the hard lower sole bends on an acute angle. This causes apposition of the medial part of the shoe with the medial ankle and a wide gap that forms between the soft upper shoe and the lateral ankle. It is this xe2x80x9cdisconnectxe2x80x9d that develops between the shoe and the lateral ankle that leads to a lack of support. The forces are entirely placed on the lateral ligaments (described above) which subsequently tear, as they cannot support the full weight of the body landing on them as may happen in the various sports activities discussed above.
The above explanation accounts for the fact that high-top shoes do no better than low-top shoes in preventing lateral ankle sprains. The current design of sports shoes, especially basketball shoes, do not adequately protect the lateral ligaments. To illustrate this point, if one stands on the lateral edges of modern basketball shoes, then allows one""s ankle to invert gently, one can feel the stresses laterally. This is under controlled conditions without movement, or vertical loading. On the other hand, lateral injuries rarely occur in shoeless athletes that jump (i.e., beach volleyball). If one jumps in place and intentionally inverts the ankle while shoeless, no particular lateral stress is appreciated.
Ankle injuries during skiing have almost totally disappeared with the development of the uniformly firm and stiff ankle boots used in modern skiing. When a foot in a ski boot inverts, the ankle and the boot are in unison, totally connected, and this does not allow the boot and the ankle to form the large lateral gaps needed to stress the lateral ligaments. Unfortunately, in skiing, the stresses have moved up to the knee joint, where injuries are now quite common. However, the stiffness of a ski boot would not be practical in any of the other sports discussed herein.
As discussed above, current solutions to attempt to avoid ankle sprains in athletes consist of externally applied tape, braces and orthotics. However, each of these have significant problems associated with them. External taping has been the traditional method used to prevent capsuloligamentous injuries of the ankle. There is mixed data to the efficacy of taping in preventing ankle sprains. It is well known that tape loosens with physical activity, with a 50% reduction in initial support after 10 minutes of exercise and with little if any support after 30 minutes (xe2x80x9cThe Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Sports; A Systematic Review of the Literaturexe2x80x9d, Thacker, Stephen B., Stroup, Donna F., Branche, Christine M. et al., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 27, No. 6, 1999; xe2x80x9cThe Efficacy of a Semirigid Ankle Stabilizer to Reduce Acute Ankle Injuries in Basketball, A Randomized Clinical Study of West Pointxe2x80x9d, Sitler, Michael, Ryan, Jack, Wheeler, Bruce et al., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 4, 1994). While the strength of the tape may initially be able to prevent the xe2x80x9clateral gapxe2x80x9d formed with forced inversion, the ability of the tape to do so later during the activity is markedly diminished. Since the tape is extrinsic to both the ankle and the shoe, the disconnect described above exists with taping. Secondly, tape is expensive and the cost is additive over the course of an entire sports season. Thirdly, properly applied tape is initially quite tight and often uncomfortable. Fourthly, tape is also irritating to the skin. Finally, tape must be applied by trained athletic personnel.
Lace-up ankle stabilizers were found to be more effective than taping in preventing ankle sprains. As long as they do not loosen, the effect of these theoretically counteracts the lateral gap that forms with injuries. The ankle will not invert significantly. These devices are inherently uncomfortable, cumbersome and time consuming to apply. In a study done in 1994, initially half of participants wearing the brace had a negative attitude about wearing it, which remained at 30% at the conclusion of the study (xe2x80x9cThe Efficacy of a Semirigid Ankle Stabilizer to Reduce Acute Ankle Injuries in Basketball, A Randomized Clinical Study at West Pointxe2x80x9d, Sitler, Michael, Ryan, Jack, Wheeler, Bruce et. al., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 22, No. 4, 1994). The stabilizers were viewed as uncomfortable and had a perceived negative effect on performance.
Inflatable cuffs to high top shoes were not shown to statistically significantly decrease the occurrence of sprains (xe2x80x9cHigh- Versus Low-Top Shoes For the Prevention of Ankle Sprains in Basketball Players; A Prospective Randomized Studyxe2x80x9d, Barrett, James, R., Tanji, Jeffrey, L., Drake, Christian et al., The American Journal of Sports Medicine, Vol. 21, No. 4, 1993).
Unfortunately, all of the above devices are generally employed after an athlete has suffered ligamentous injury, in order to prevent subsequent sprains. The damage has already been done. Ankle functionality has been diminished below baseline levels.
Park, Sr., et al. U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,410 concern an athletic shoe with an integral flexible ankle support. The athletic shoe of U.S. Pat. No. 3,327,410 has two straps that wrap around the ankle high up and do not extend across the lateral ligaments. This is cumbersome to apply. The outside wrap puts direct pressure on the Achilles tendon and would cause irritation.
Slavitt U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,077 is directed to an athletic shoe with an attached ankle brace.
Craythorne et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,023 relate to a hard brace ankle support shoe. This rigid support may not allow for full functionality of the ankle and could be uncomfortable to wear. This is not an intrinsic device inherently.
Van Dyke et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,330 describe a shoe with an integral, rigid brace ankle support.
Sanchez U.S. Pat. No. 5,819,439 involves a shoe for a bodybuilder which allows for the performance of thigh exercises. The design of the straps do not specifically address the issue of lateral ligament stability.
Peterson U.S. Pat. No. 5,771,608 describes a shoe with an ankle strap protection. The straps do not anatomically support the lateral ligament complex. Peterson emphasizes eversion injuries, which are rare in basketball players. In addition, biofeedback mechanisms for an athlete airborne to prevent inversion or eversion injuries would be difficult to occur because of the short time within the air and also fails to account for injuries occurring when an athlete lands on someone else""s foot. Lateral bumper supports are also not present.
Monti U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,057 concerns a strapping and closure system for an outer heel strap and instep piece, rather than a fixed ankle support system. This is in a cleated shoe.
Badalamenti U.S. Pat. No. 4,335,529 provides a traction device for shoes for lateral traction for soccer or football cleated shoes. The Badalamenti design is not adequate to prevent inversion ankle injuries, nor is it meant to do so.
Chassaing U.S. Pat. No. 4,577,419 concerns a high-top shoe with only an outer strap. This does not adequately join the ankle and shoe as a single unit.
Lyne U.S. Pat. No. 2,179,942 describes a golf shoe with attachments projecting off the medial shoe to prevent excessive movement or rotation of the left foot during the golf backswing. This has no bearing on safety to the lateral ligaments. The Lyne shoes have spikes, rather than provide a hard rubber athletic shoe.
Ivany U.S. Pat. No. 4,621,648 disclose an ankle support system having an inner brace combined with outer straps. This design is cumbersome and difficult to apply.
Marquis U.S. Pat. No. 3,613,273 and Robinson U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,630 describe shoes which include external straps.
Shoes for specific sports are disclosed in Westfall U.S. Pat. No. 1,545,623 (hockey boot); Fassett U.S. Pat. No. 2,096,677 (skate shoe); Andre U.S. Pat. No. 2,531,763 (ski boot); and Ju U.S. Pat. No. 4,747,753 (golf shoe).
Echols U.S. Pat. No. 5,449,005 describe a removable, shoe interior ankle brace.
Weissman et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,221 relate to footwear having a protuberance which extends medially outwardly from the mid region of the shoe.
Darcey U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,871 concerns a custom-fitted ankle splint product.
Meschan U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,002 relates to an athletic shoe having a flexible member disposed between a foot support region and above the sole.
It is an object of the present invention to prevent or reduce ankle inversion stresses that could lead to ankle injuries during athletic activities of athletes wearing athletic shoes or sneakers.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an athletic shoe or sneaker that can be easily applied and universally available to all athletes.
In one aspect of the present invention, an enhanced athletic shoe has an intrinsic stabilizer device, which will not allow the xe2x80x9cdisconnection of ankle and shoexe2x80x9d during inversion stresses. This will diminish the xe2x80x9clateral gapxe2x80x9d that is formed between ankle and shoe during inversion, and exacerbated by the heretofore design of sports shoes. The intrinsic stabilizer device will allow for a full range motion in the ankle joint, preserving functionality. The athletic shoe according to the present invention will be comfortable, easily applied, fully functional and significantly safer than heretofore models.
In this embodiment of the present invention, two straps are employed. The first strap is unique in that it directly adjoins the ankle to the shoe as a single unit. It can be cinched to secure quite easily, yet remain a stylish addition to the outside of the shoe. It can also be recinched easily during the activity if it should become loosened. The second strap is unique in its location within the wall of the shoe, its anatomic relationship to the lateral ligaments, its lack of irritation to the Achilles tendon as it does not directly contact this structure, the ability to easily apply and cinch this strap tightly, to recinch, if necessary, if it loosens during the activity, and its relatively stylish appearance on the top of the shoe.
In another aspect of the present invention, laterally placed stabilizer devices attached to the outside of the shoe will further prevent injury by resisting and countering the force of the initial inversion. This embodiment of the present invention involves lateral bumper supports that are unique in their location and design and act as insurance back-up, should inversion occur. The aim of the lateral bumper supports is to reduce or prevent forced inversion of the ankle during athletic activities and thus reduce both the frequency and severity of lateral ankle sprains in athletes.
In a further aspect of the present invention, the medial and lateral sides of the athletic shoe according to the present invention will be made stiffer than heretofore to prevent the acute angles that form during inversion stresses. The significant differences between the stiffness of the sole from the upper shoe will therefore be slightly diminished. This third embodiment of the present invention serves to make the shoe upper of a slightly stiffer material (such as a leather) or to add an elastic polymer to diminish the acute bending of the upper with the sole during inversion injuries.
The present invention concerns an athletic shoe comprising:
a bottom component having a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom component including a sole having an upper surface and a lower surface;
an upper component extending from the top surface of the bottom component for accommodating a foot therein, the upper component having a medial sidewall, a lateral sidewall, a back portion between the medial sidewall and the lateral sidewall; and
two elongate straps, one end of each of the two elongate straps being intimately secured to an inner surface of the shoe, the two elongate straps supporting the ankle mortise and lateral ligaments of a foot within the shoe, the two elongate straps each having a free end which is detachably securable to each other on an outer surface of the shoe and tightenable to reduce or prevent ankle inversion stresses of a foot within the shoe.
The present invention is further directed to an athletic shoe comprising:
a bottom component having a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom component including a sole having an upper surface and a lower surface;
an upper component extending from the top surface of the bottom component for accommodating a foot therein, the upper component having a medial sidewall, a lateral sidewall, a back portion between the medial sidewall and the lateral sidewall;
a first elongate strap secured at an end portion thereof at a junction of the sole and the medial sidewall, the first elongate strap extending inside the shoe across the upper surface of the sole in a region where the mid arch of a foot within the shoe would be located, and extending horizontally for disposition on the top of a foot within the shoe, the first elongate strap exiting the shoe through the lateral sidewall adjacent to the upper surface of the sole for extending across a top surface of the shoe and passing through a first fastening device disposed on an outer surface of the shoe and adjacent to the top of the medial sidewall, the first elongate strap having a first attachment component on a free end thereof; and
a second elongate strap secured at an end portion thereof at the lateral sidewall of the shoe in a region where the level of the base of the 5th metatarsal of a foot within the shoe would be located, the second elongate strap extending across the back portion of the shoe adjacent to the top of the upper component, and running parallel to the sole in the medial sidewall before exiting the medial sidewall, and extending horizontally within a tongue in an upper surface of the upper component, the second elongate strap extending across the ankle of a foot within the shoe, the second elongate strap exiting the shoe through the lateral sidewall adjacent to the upper surface of the sole and passing through a second fastening device disposed posterior to the first fastening device, the second elongate strap having a second attachment component on a free end thereof for engagement with the first attachment component of the first elongate strap.
The present invention also concerns an athletic shoe comprising:
a bottom component having a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom component including a sole having an upper surface and a lower surface;
an upper component extending from the top surface of the bottom component for accommodating a foot therein, the upper component having a medial sidewall, a lateral sidewall, a back portion between the medial sidewall and the lateral sidewall;
a first elongate strap secured at an end portion thereof at a junction of the sole and the medial sidewall, the first elongate strap extending inside the shoe across the upper surface of the sole in a region where the mid arch of a foot within the shoe would be located, and extending horizontally for disposition on the top of a foot within the shoe, the first elongate strap exiting the shoe through a first slit in the lateral sidewall (reinforced with an internal D-ring) adjacent to the upper surface of the sole for extending across a top surface of the shoe, passing through a first fastening device, such as a buckle (external D-ring), on an outer surface of the shoe and adjacent to the top of the medial sidewall, the first elongate strap having a first releasable attachment component being disposed on an inner surface thereof and adjacent to a free end of the first elongate strap; and
a second elongate strap secured within a channel in the lateral sidewall of the shoe in a region where the level of the base of the 5th metatarsal of a foot within the shoe would be located, the second elongate strap extending across the back portion of the shoe adjacent to the top of the upper component, and running parallel to the sole in the medial sidewall before exiting the medial sidewall, and extending horizontally within a channel within a tongue in an upper surface of the upper component, the second elongate strap extending across an ankle of a foot within the shoe and exiting the shoe through a second slit (also reinforced with an internal D-ring) on the lateral sidewall adjacent to the upper surface of the sole, the second elongate strap passing through a second fastening device, such as a buckle (external D-ring), disposed posterior to the first fastening device, the second elongate strap having a second releasable attachment component on an inner surface of a free end thereof for engagement with the first releasable attachment component of the first elongate strap.
The present invention further relates to an athletic shoe comprising:
a bottom component having a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom component including a sole having an upper surface and a lower surface;
an upper component extending from the top surface of the bottom component for accommodating a foot, the upper component having a medial sidewall, a lateral sidewall and a back portion between the medial sidewall and the lateral sidewall; and
at least two lateral support bumpers disposed integrally with the shoe and on an outer surface of the lateral sidewall, the lateral support bumpers being disposed adjacent to the sole above the bottom surface of the bottom component, and the lateral support bumpers being positioned on the shoe and of sufficient dimensions to reduce or prevent ankle inversion stresses of a foot within the shoe. Preferably one of the lateral bumpers is disposed in a region where the head of the 5th metatarsal of a foot within the shoe would be located, and a second of the lateral support bumpers is disposed adjacent to the anterior heel, the lateral support bumpers preferably each having a base portion which projects laterally outward from the shoe at a distance of approximately xe2x85x9c to ⅝ inches.
The present invention is also directed to an athletic shoe comprising:
a bottom component having a to surface and a bottom surface, the bottom component including a sole,
an upper component extending from the top surface of the bottom component for accommodating a foot, the upper component having a medial sidewall and a lateral sidewall and a back portion between the medial sidewall and the lateral sidewall;
at least one of the medial sidewall and the lateral sidewall having a sufficiently stiff consistency (for example, made of leather or by addition of an elastic polymer) to reduce or prevent acute angles that form during inversion stresses to a foot within the shoe. Preferably both the medial sidewall and the lateral sidewall have the aforesaid sufficiently stiff consistency.