Force Mitigating Athletic Shoe

Each year in North America there are approximately 175,000 non-contact ACL injuries. One of the main causes of these injuries is the rotational and translational forces created when a player makes a sudden change in direction or stops. Every athlete subjects their lower extremities to various forces that are unique to his or her mass, speed, and strength. These forces are affected by composition of the playing field surface, shoe sole design and construction, and other factors. Using these and other factors, the level of force at which injury is inevitable (pre-injury force) is determined and an athletic shoe is created which will provide a mitigating deformation induced by a particular athlete's pre-determined, pre-injury force threshold. A mitigating deformation of as little as 2 degrees can significantly reduce injurious forces. After the athlete has progressed through that particular force-generating movement, the shoe's sole instantly returns to its original shape.