Basketball is almost synonymous with hi-tops. That’s due to the tendency for players to sprain their ankles with running, jumping and cutting moves typical of the game. Even with the added support of a higher shoe, injuries are still common and can rack up to $3,000 to $5,000 per sprain, and downtime from the season. A new company, Ektio, wants to reduce the number of injuries due to sprains with its two models the Wraptor and Post Up, which will be available in November for the early days of the basketball season.
The Wraptor is a traditional high top with leather, quilted stitching, perforated leather details and patent leather toe and ankle accents. The Post Up is a three-quarter top shoe with mesh walls to keep cool. The defining feature of both shoes in the Ektio line is built in straps within the wall of the shoe to anchor the ankle and prevent rollover injuries. The shoe’s design incorporates “anti-rollover bumpers” on the outside of the sole as well.
Ektio’s design was developed by Dr. Barry Katz and his medical team. The doctor was inspired to create the new design after his son fell prey to the sprained ankle while playing basketball. The shoes have undergone testing and clinical trials at Drexel University and the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. Studies find that despite the anchoring of the ankle to the shoe, useful ankle motions in movement such as running, jumping and cutting, typical to an average game of basketball, were not inhibited in comparison to the standard basketball shoe.
Ektio has behind it a team of experts including Thomas Nordstrom, M.D., orthopedic surgeon; Steven Dribben, doctor of podiatry; Sorin Seigler, Ph.D., director of Biomechanics Lab at Drexel University; and Howard Hillstrom, Ph.D., director of Gait Lab at the Hospital for Special Surgery in NYC. The new shoe line even has the support and involvement of former NY Knick John Starks, who wants to get Ektio shoes on the feet of all NBA players.
Ektio’s official web page