Effect of Footwear Versus Barefoot on Double-Leg Jump-Landing and Jump Height Measures: A Randomized Cross-Over Study.
Kim Hébert-Losier, Caleb Boswell-Smith, Ivana Hanzlíková
PMID 37547838WHAT IT FOUND
Switching between shoes and barefoot changes jump-landing scores for one-third of people, flipping risk categories for 16%.
Group averages stay similar, but individual results shift enough to matter. Always test the same person in the same footwear condition to track progress accurately.
Key findings
0133.8% of participants showed a clinically meaningful difference of one error or more in LESS scores between footwear and barefoot conditions.
02Injury risk categorization was inconsistent between conditions for 16.3% of participants.
03Group mean LESS scores were significantly higher in footwear than barefoot, but the difference was trivial (0.3 errors).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study used healthy university students, not injured athletes or those in rehabilitation, so results may not apply to patients with existing knee issues. Participants were excluded if they wore minimalist shoes, so the findings do not apply to people who train in barefoot-style footwear. The LESS is a screening tool with debated predictive value for ACL injury; a change in score does not guarantee a change in actual injury risk.
Declared interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that barefoot testing is superior or more 'natural' for clinical screening. The authors recommend using shoes because the predictive value of the LESS for actual ACL injury has been established in shod conditions, not barefoot.