I know no one cares, and I probably just have shitty bones, but I broke my leg Kevin Ware style a month ago wearing a pair of hyperdunks.
http://i.imgur.com/h6y1wNh.jpg they are the most comfortable shoes I've ever played basketball in, but I don't know if I'll be wearing them again.
People care man. And like I said at the start we have no way to prove that the shoe causes these issues. Shoe companies are safe from any legal issues because of the amount of variables that impact injuries. But science supports that if your feet shift position during a transfer of energy injury risks escalate immensely.
Gallo's injury last night is a perfect visual (if you handle it). He goes to the hoop, does a simple jump stop and his knee caves.
Now I'm just talking here, I have zero proof about what actually happened.
When Gallo plants his feet during his landing all the lines of force are running down from his hips to his feet. Exactly how it happens every time we land from a jump. If his feet stay planted solidly that force will transfer back through his body, with the majority of it being absorbed/stored in his leg muscles and released when he takes off again.
But what happens if one foot shifts inside his footwear? The centre of gravity changes rapidly and those lines of force change as well.
This is not a perfect example but i have seen it used before.
Holding a thin straw in your hands with a single finger tip on each end. Apply pressure to both ends of the straw. It doesn't even matter if its balanced pressure on each end. When the pressure is applied in exactly opposing directions the straw appears plenty strong and able to support a considerable amount of force. Now try holding the straw as vertical as possible and slowly apply force downwards while turning/rotating the bottom finger. If you do this correctly the pressure that was built up in the straw will find the weakest spot and the straw should collapse in the direction that you rotated your lower finger.
That's a rolled ankle.
The second example is more difficult to duplicate but instead of rotating the lower finger you need to shift it to one side rapidly while increasing the amount of force considerably. The straw collapses in the opposite direction the lower finger was moved.
That's a knee injury.
And if the experiment is done as I was shown it, the ankle injury straw will give at a spot lower than the knee injury one. Knee injury will be closer to the middle of the straw.
As technology has advanced over the years we have shoes that do a better job at hindering ankle injuries. Outsole shape and flex points changed. Good tech. And then companies started trying to shed weight and increase responsiveness. Lighter foam started being used in midsoles. Thinner material in shoe uppers. These shoes feel incredible in the store. So soft under your feet. But at what cost?
And balddemon those Hyperdunks have the Lunarlon sole in it. That sole is as mushy as it comes. The original Hyperdunk is a fantastic shoe. If you look at the Lunar ones they even added in a glass reinforced shank in the midsole to add stability. Stability that was lost when they put in this lighter foam.
Injuries happen and you can't just blame the shoe but in my opinion that foam shouldn't be in performance footwear.