Stephen Curry’s new shoes, the Under Armour Curry 5 low, will see the floor underneath the Golden State Warriors star for the first time. According to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, Curry isn’t worried about ankle support.
“It is kind of ironic that I made the switch this season considering my ankle issues, but this shoe is stable and engineered to maximize my performance,” Curry told ESPN. “I will still wear my ankle braces, but I have total comfort and security in my new shoe.”
Well there you have it. Curry is confident, but no doubt some fans will be wondering whether wearing low tops are the right move for a player with a history of ankle injuries. Especially when that player is a 2-time MVP and perhaps the most important guy on the Warriors roster.
So, should you be worried about those low-top shoes affecting Curry’s ankle? In short: no.
There’s been several medical studies released over the years regarding the benefit of high tops vs. low tops when it comes to ankle support. Long before Kobe Bryant made it popular to have a low-top signature shoe, the question of high and low was being raised.
The issue at hand is what the studies call “ankle inversion” -- strains of the outer ligaments of the foot. One study published in 2000 by researchers at BYU in the Journal of Athletic Training suggested that high tops were more effective in limiting inversion, but that susceptibility to injuries also depended on the type of load exerted, among other factors. In short, it wasn’t definitively conclusive.
Other studies have actually contradicted the BYU findings. In 1994 a study published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine concluded that, “There is no strong relationship between shoe type and ankle sprains.”
Likewise, the Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists (UK) published a paper in 2008 saying that high-top shoes may actually hurt your ability to keep your ankle healthy and may have a, “Detrimental effect on establishing and maintaining functional ankle joint stability.”
Over at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Sara Lyn Miniaci-Coxhead says the best way to prevent ankle inversion is, “Strong muscles on the outside of the foot.” Dr. Miniaci-Coxhead adds that, “Wearing high-top shoes can cause these muscles to activate later and be less effective.”
So, there you have it. Clear as mud. While common sense might tell you that firm ankle support can lead to fewer turned ankles, the actual medical and university studies on the matter aren’t so sure. There’s certainly not a consensus.
That brings us back to Curry. It’s hard to say that Curry needs to wear high-top shoes, and not only because medical science can’t quite seem to agree that it’s the best preventative measure. That’s because at the time of his last injury, Curry was already wearing high-top shoes with ankle braces.
Those braces, by the way, are what Curry will continue to wear. And if we can take his prior routines as evidence, there seems to be some context to suggest that Curry has done and will continue to do all he can along his kinetic chain to prevent further injury. Curry famously does band warm-ups before a game, and that type of muscle activation from my admittedly untrained eye seems to suggest he works on strengthening and loosening many muscles in his legs rather than relying on staunch support of braces.
Ankle injuries are what they are: accidents. Curry wearing low-top shoes isn’t going to make him more likely to have another ankle injury -- his injury history and aching soft tissues will do that.
It’s still possible that Curry rolls his ankle again, not just because of this history but because we don’t know the dynamics of the new shoe. A lot goes into making a shoe safe for play, including traction, stability, and materials. But the sole fact the Curry 5s are low tops doesn’t necessarily mean more danger to the former MVP.
Honestly, my only problem with Steph wearing a low-top shoe? It looks like a damn sock.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BgMbAsglGyI/
Oh well. Better than the Chefs, I guess.
Feel better, champ. The Warriors need you.
