Creating bespoke orthotics to help reduce injury
Foot Factor is proud to support the London Lions again this season. London Lions are a British professional basketball team based in East London and compete in the British Basketball League, the top tier of British basketball.
A solid foundation
Height gives players an obvious advantage in basketball but also makes them very susceptible to injury. Like a tall building, basketball players need a solid foundation to support their bodies and withstand the power generated by the players’ movement. When players land from jumps the impact on the ground can be as high as four to six times their body weight. They also run, pivot, and make plenty of sudden stops and direction changes during games, this puts immense pressure on players’ foot, ankle, and knee joints.
Return-to-play strategy
The Medical Director at the London Lions, Elena Jobson explains how we have helped the players stay injury free this season.
Foot Factor have been a big part of our return-to-play strategy at the London Lions this past season. It has been my first season as Medical Director at the London Lions basketball club and within the first week I was introduced to the Foot Factor team due to all the good work they had done with the team in previous seasons.
We have a range of injuries that we encounter in basketball. Some of those that we dealt with this season have been foot and ankle issues as well as lower back pain. An example of a case where we looked to the team at Foot Factor for help was an Achilles issue. A player had been struggling with ongoing Achilles irritation which is not uncommon in basketball as it is a jumping sport. We sent the player to see the Foot Factor team who custom made him insoles that helped take off some strain on his Achilles and allowed the player to return to practice and games without any irritation alongside a strengthening program. There have been a few cases this season where we turned to the team for help, and we are very pleased to continue a good relationship with Foot Factor.
The process when the player goes to the practice for their appointment is very smooth. The rehabilitation process in professional sports can be complex due to time pressure to return players to court. The great thing with Foot Factor is that our players will walk out with their custom-made orthotic on the same day. We have found Foot Factor are well-equipped to handle the demands of a professional team and their support this season has had a significant impact.
I initially came here because I had tightness at the balls of my feet. As a professional basketball player my feet are very important to me so I wanted to figure out what the issue was. Within about 15 minutes of testing they were able to figure out the issue and an hour after that they had created custom orthotics to fit into my basketball shoes. After a few months of wearing them so far I can say they have truly helped to relieve my symptoms on and off the court! Highly recommended!
Josh S – Player with the London Lions
Awesome people and even better product/service! Was in&out in less than 90 minutes with custom and hand made orthotics. Within minutes my pain was alleviated. Can’t emphasize enough how important having orthotics specialized for you are. Awesome experience all around.
Samuel Dekker – Player with the London Lions