128 Plantar pressures in basketball free-throw movements

Abstract

Free-throws are one of the important factors for deciding basketball game outcomes. The purposes of this research were to analyze free-throws by measuring plantar pressures during free-throw movements and to explore the potential to construct free-throw training feedback application using plantar pressure sensors. Ground reaction force impulse was tested in a comparison between highly skilled and unskilled subjects. The impulse of skilled subjects was significant smaller than those of unskilled subjects. Skilled subjects also threw the ball using shorter durations and smaller ground reaction forces. In addition, the variability of impulse was much more stable in skilled subjects. The meaning of these results is likely that skilled shooters can throw the ball more efficiently with high level of movement reproducibility.