An Assessment of Hallux Limitus in University Basketball Players Compared with Noncompetitive Individuals

by MASS4D® Prescription Orthotics September 30, 2016

The aim of this study was to determine the likelihood of the development of hallux limitus in 123 university basketball players by comparing the range of motion of their first metatarsophalangeal joint with a cohort of noncompetitive individuals in a similar age range.

Only three of the 123 basketball players examined reported an acute case of turf toe, with another having had surgery on his first metatarsophalangeal joint.

The range of motion at the first metatarsophalangeal joint was measured with a universal goniometer before practice, to ensure similarity of conditions, to limit the effect that physical exertion might have on range of motion and to decrease variability within the study groups.

The results of the study indicated a significant decrease in range of motion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint when comparing the players to the control group, along with a significant loss of dorsiflexion of the first metatarsophalangeal joint.

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The authors concluded that repetitive, unrecognised, and untreated trauma to the first metatarsophalangeal joint has an overall effect on the development of hallux rigidus in collegiate basketball players.

Because it has been noted that this condition stems usually from what it classified as a turf toe injury, it can be reasonably stated that this injury does occur in collegiate basketball players, although at a subacute level.

Clinicians should be aware of sports participation history as a potential influencing factor on foot structure and gait biomechanics, as these could affect the etiology of symptoms presenting elsewhere in the kinetic chain.

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References:

1. Paul Tregouet (2014) An Assessment of Hallux Limitus in University Basketball Players Compared with Noncompetitive Individuals. Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association: September/October 2014, Vol. 104, No. 5, pp. 468-472

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