Effects of midsole support plate material on lower-limb kinetics and muscle activation during basketball-specific movements

This study investigated whether midsole support plate material alters lower-limb biomechanics during common basketball-specific tasks. Twenty recreational male collegiate basketball players performed countermovement jumps, 45° cutting, and lateral shuffling in a standardized shoe under three conditions: carbon fiber plate, nylon plate, and no plate. Ground reaction forces, lower-limb joint moments (metatarsophalangeal, ankle, and knee), and surface electromyography (sEMG) from key lower-limb muscles were collected and processed using a consistent inverse-dynamics and sEMG processing pipeline. Across tasks, external loading profiles and joint moment magnitudes were broadly comparable between footwear conditions, indicating limited influence of plate material on gross kinetics under the tested movements. Muscle activation outcomes showed only task- and muscle-specific differences, with changes most evident in the quadriceps during cutting, while co-activation ratios at the ankle and knee remained similar across conditions. Overall, modifying midfoot support plate material within a single shoe configuration produced minimal changes in external kinetics and joint moments, with only modest, movement-dependent neuromuscular differences, providing practical guidance for basketball footwear design that targets midfoot support without materially increasing external loads.