Effect of football cleat stud shape, sex and fatigue state on plantar loading during lateral cutting

Abstract

Objectives

Consequential interactions at the cleat-surface interface are associated with non-contact torsional injury mechanics, such as anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, in football.

This study investigates the effect of sex and fatigue on plantar pressure distribution and centre of pressure excursion in cleated footwear geometries of higher (bladed) and lower (elliptical) available traction to better understand the aetiology of female injury patterns.

Methods

College-aged football participants (10 male, 10 female) performed a fatiguing running and cutting protocol in cleated footwear of different stud shapes. Insole pressure was recorded during intermittent lateral cuts across a multistage fatigue protocol. Peak plantar pressure during the initial cutting stance and centre of pressure trajectory across the full cutting stance were compared across both cleat types and with fatigue progression.

Results

Significant main and interaction effects of sex, cleat and fatigue were found on peak pressure across the anterior heel, medial forefoot and lateral toes. Results suggest elliptical cleats increased peak pressure during the initial cutting stance compared with bladed cleats. Systemic fatigue progression increased the mediolateral centre of pressure excursion and posterolateral peak pressure. This posterolateral deviation is largest among females in the bladed cleat, potentially indicative of instability.

Conclusion

Results suggest optimising cleated footwear for female athletes during their most susceptible fatigued state. Data suggest improving lateral and posterior stud arrangement on a female-informed cleat design to reduce posterolateral excursion during cutting stance.

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC

• Female athletes have a higher incidence rate of anterior cruciate ligament tear in football. Despite research suggesting female athletes may hold higher sensitivity to available traction, cleated footwear is primarily tailored to the male athlete, overlooking potential mechanical consequences that fatigue may induce.

WHAT THIS STUDY ADDS

• Differences in plantar loading patterns during lateral cutting are observed across sex, cleat condition and fatigue progression across key stud locations. Females trend towards a more posterolateral loading pattern than males, exacerbated by fatigue progression. This highlights potential biomechanical factors contributing to injury risk.

HOW THIS STUDY MIGHT AFFECT RESEARCH, PRACTICE OR POLICY

• To address injury risk susceptibilities, products worn by female athletes on the playing field should be designed considering female-specific biomechanics. Researchers should consider fatigue progression when evaluating athlete mechanics, as the risk of injury may change.

Introduction

Football cleat outsoles are designed to depress into the grass surface when a normal load is applied.¹ Outsole studs increase ground reaction forces at ground contact,^{2 3} creating zones of localised pressure on the foot. With reduced footwear-ground surface area, greater mean and peak pressures are resolved across the plantar surface.³ Therefore, cleat outsole properties modulate available traction and influence plantar pressure distribution, ultimately impacting lower limb kinetics.^{4 5} Bladed cleats produce higher translational and rotational resistance than elliptical cleats on natural and artificial surfaces.^{6 7} Understanding loading patterns and regional pressure across stud geometries could highlight potential injury susceptibility. Consequential interactions at the cleat-surface interface are associated with non-contact torsional injury.^{1 8} Nearly two-thirds of non-contact football injuries are estimated to result from excess traction at ground contact;⁹ anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures comprise a sizeable portion of non-contact injuries.^{10 11} Movements of rapid deceleration and unanticipated changes of direction are associated with the highest risk of non-contact ACL ruptures,^{12 13} aligning with instances of highest utilised traction.⁷ In cases of ACL rupture, injury is estimated to occur within 50 milliseconds of ground contact.¹⁴ Video analysis of injury mechanisms in elite sports identified rearfoot contact patterns to precede ACL injury more frequently than forefoot contact patterns.^{15 16} A more posteriorly directed centre of pressure (COP) position coincides with increased combined valgus and internal rotation moments,¹⁷ extensor moments¹⁸ and joint negative work¹⁹ in the knee.

Female football athletes have a three times higher ACL tear rate than their male counterparts.^{20 21} Female mechanics feature less knee flexion, higher knee valgus at initial contact and greater ankle eversion during cutting tasks,^{22 23} predisposing greater mediolateral and anterior translational forces on the tibia.²² Despite female susceptibility to ACL injury,^{24 25} football cleats are historically designed according to male mechanics. Research suggests that footwear affects female landing mechanics more so than males.²⁶ Queen et al²⁷ assessed forefoot loading patterns during cutting tasks across cleat variations; differences in forefoot force-time integral and maximum force between bladed, firm ground and hard ground cleats were only discerned in females, suggesting a lower sensitivity threshold to traction.²⁷ Similar sex-cleat interactions can be observed in neuromuscular control strategies.²⁸ Despite evidence of traction affecting female loading mechanics, there is a persistent scientific narrative that mechanically available traction does not alter lower limb mechanics to result in injury.^{8 29 30} Yet, this assertion is based on male data. To better understand the aetiology of female injury patterns in cleated footwear, it is necessary to assess sex differences in whole-foot plantar loading during cutting tasks.

Previous methods have not considered mechanical variability from the first to the final whistle on the playing field. Evidence suggests the incidence of traumatic injuries increases at the end of each half,³¹ likely associated with fatigue progression. Internal workload measured by perceived exertion was found to predict non-contact injury among elite football players.³² Systemic fatigue has numerous effects on athletic performance, reducing strength,^{33 34} power³³ and joint stability.³³ More directly, fatigue induces postural sway among football players.³⁵ Females are suggested to be more consequentially affected by fatigue.^{29 36 37} In runners, systemic fatigue increases peak force, impulse and plantar pressure in the forefoot and midfoot.³⁸ Thus, it appears changes in pressure distribution could be a marker of systemic fatigue. To inform traction parameters for females, measuring loading patterns across fatigued states is necessary.

This paper investigates the effect of sex and fatigue on plantar pressure distribution and COP excursion in cleated footwear of differing stud geometries. Based on the increased risk of non-contact injury with fatigue progression, this study evaluated plantar pressure patterns of lateral cutting movements during a field-based running and cutting protocol. Understanding plantar loading across elliptical and bladed cleats may give insight into stud characteristics best suited for female athletes. We hypothesise that females will have greater lateral forefoot loading, resulting in greater mediolateral COP (COP_x) excursion. Additionally, we hypothesise females will have more posteriorly directed COP (COP_y) at initial contact. As elliptical cleats offer lower resistance, we predict they will have lower peak plantar pressure than higher traction, bladed cleats. We predict systemic fatigue will increase COP_x and COP_y excursion and increase pressure.

Methods

Participants

Twenty football athletes participated in this study: 10 females (age, 19.9±1.7 years; mass, 60.4±6.3 kg; height, 165.3±4.6 cm) and 10 males (age, 22.0±2.2 years; mass, 73.7±7.4 kg; height, 175.6±5.5 cm). Athletes were between the ages of 18 and 26, with a history of competitive play, ranging from National Collegiate Athletic Association(NCAA) Division III athletes to university club teams or local league members. Participants had no self-reported lower limb injury in the past year, no history of ACL injury and wore shoe sizes of women’s 8–9 (±0.5) or men’s 10–11 (±0.5).

Footwear conditions

Participants completed two data collections within 4–40 days. At each visit, participants were assigned a different randomised cleat: Adidas Copa Sense .3 cleat, with elliptical studs, and Adidas Predator Edge .2, with bladed studs. While these are different models, tooling materiality, stud length and stud placement are comparable.

Surface

Data collections were performed at the Moshofsky Center at the University of Oregon (Eugene, OR, USA), an indoor fieldhouse with a regulation-sized American football field. This third-generation synthetic surface features FieldTurf Vertex Core, a hybrid (monofilament and slit-film) fibre construction, a three-layer sand/rubber infill and a polypropylene shock pad.

Data collection

Pedar pressure insoles (Novel, Munich, Germany, sampled at 100 Hz) were inserted in place of the sock liner. Before collection, insoles were calibrated to six bars according to manufacturer specifications and calibrated to the user.

Participants performed a multistage fatigue protocol after completing a standardised warm-up. The fatigue protocol was adapted from the Gauntlet Test, a validated cardiorespiratory fitness assessment to predict collegiate football players’ aerobic performance.³⁹ The adapted Gauntlet Test consisted of five stages involving a series of intermittent lateral cuts across the length and width of the field. Suited to the field’s constraints, the Gauntlet Test was modified to consist of 1607-, 799-, 401-, 208-, and 100-m stages, each separated by 1 min of rest (figure 1). The fatigue protocol was designed to be performed at maximal effort; therefore, participants were instructed to complete the stages in the least amount of cumulative time. At each designated direction change, participants performed a 90-degree cut.

Figure 1. The Gauntlet Test running stage routes viewed from overhead. (A) In the 1607-metre running stage, participants performed two laps of the outlined route, starting on the green circle and terminating on the red stop sign. A singular lap of this outlined run is the 799-merte running stage. (B) The 401-metre running stage is just under half a lap. (C) The 208-metre running stage consists of three major cuts spanning the size of the field. (D) The 100-metre running stage is a straight sprint down the field.

Data analysis

Cutting steps during the initial 400 metres of the 1607-m stage were chosen to represent the prefatigue condition, and cutting steps during the final 190 metres of the 401-m stage were chosen to represent the post-fatigue condition. Since these two stages followed identical routes, apart from the total distance covered, select cutting steps from the beginning and end of these respective stages were considered the most controlled mechanical comparison between pre- and post-fatigue states. The mean of four cutting steps following a full-width run was analysed for each participant and condition. Each mean contained left and right cuts when possible; however, six out of 80 trials contained fewer than four cuts due to equipment failure. Data were filtered using a dual-pass fourth-order Butterworth low-pass filter at 25 Hz. Stance phase was defined when the vertical ground reaction force exceeded 50 N. Pressure data were normalised to body weight (BW) and subdivided into eleven regions, reflective of cleat stud placement (figure 2A). The heel was subdivided into four masks: heel upper medial (HUM), heel upper lateral (HUL), heel lower medial (HLM) and heel lower lateral (HLL). The forefoot was subdivided into seven masks: forefoot upper medial (FUM), forefoot upper lateral (FUL), forefoot centre medial (FCM), forefoot central (FC), forefoot centre lateral (FCL), forefoot lower medial (FLM) and forefoot lower lateral (FLL). As ACL injury is most likely to occur during initial contact,¹⁴ peak plantar pressure masked to stud location was analysed within the first 0.05 s of stance.

Figure 2. (A) Eleven footwear masked regions defined on the plantar pressure insole, corresponding to stud locations. The normalised centre of pressure (COP) position coordinate system is visually overlaid, where 100% mediolateral COP (COP_x) and 100% anteroposterior COP (COP_y) represent the most lateral and anterior positions, respectively. (B) Significant main and interaction effects of peak pressure during the initial 0.05 s of the cutting stance are shown within the 11 regions corresponding to the stud locations.

The mean COP position at initial contact and 0.05 s after initial contact, as well as the excursion during stance and the first 0.05 s of stance, were analysed along the mediolateral and anteroposterior axes with a custom MATLAB script (Mathworks Inc., Natick, MA, USA). The COP position was normalised to the dimensions of the insole, with 0% representing medial-most or posterior-most positions and 100% representing lateral-most or anterior-most positions (figure 3). Temporal waveforms of COP_x and COP_y excursions across the full cutting stance were interpolated to establish participant and condition-specific means.

Figure 3. Mean (solid line) and standard deviation (shaded area) of mediolateral (COP_x) trajectory during cutting stance between male (blue) and female (red) participants. A greater value on the y-axis indicates a more lateral position (50% representing the foot’s midline). The top row summarises bladed cleats; the bottom row summarises elliptical cleats. The left column presents prefatigue time series data; the right column presents postfatigue time series data. Significant fatigue effects were found in the 95.7%–100% stance.

Statistics

Statistical analyses were performed using R-Studio (RStudio Inc., Boston, MA, USA). Alpha levels of 0.05 were used in all tests. Three-way mixed model univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted to compare the effect of sex, cleat condition and fatigue state on peak pressure for each of the 11 masked regions during the initial stance. Mixed-effects ANOVAs were conducted on COP_x and COP_y positions and excursions during initial and full stances. Post hoc pairwise t-tests were performed with Bonferroni correction.

Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM) was used to independently assess differences in time series waveforms of COP_x and COP_y excursion based on the effects of sex, cleat condition and fatigue state during full stance.^{40 41}

Results

Peak plantar pressure

Descriptive statistics of peak pressure within the 11 footwear masks are summarised by condition in table 1. Significant effects are illustrated in figure 2B.

Table 1. Mean±SD of peak plantar pressure at initial contact of the cutting stance within 11 pressure-masked regions correspond to stud location, sorted conditionally by sex, cleat condition and fatigue state (xBW).

Region	Bladed		Elliptical
	Prefatigue	Postfatigue	Prefatigue	Postfatigue
Male
FUM	0.90±0.50	0.89±0.59	0.91±0.62	0.86±0.68
FUL*†	0.24±0.13	0.21±0.12	0.28±0.15	0.23±0.12
FCM‡*§	1.74±0.47	1.76±0.68	1.82 ± 0.50	1.79±0.56
FC	1.02±0.38	1.03±0.29	1.06±0.36	0.99±0.17
FCL	0.34±0.19	0.37±0.18	0.38±0.15	0.36±0.12
FLM	0.84±0.45	0.81±0.54	0.88±0.51	0.85±0.60
FLL	0.38±0.16	0.39±0.19	0.40±0.12	0.37±0.14
HUM*	1.60±1.01	1.75±0.85	1.83±0.96	2.05±0.77
HUL¶**	1.29±0.85	1.49±0.79	1.41±0.77	1.67±0.76
HLM	1.65±1.17	1.67±0.95	1.77±1.22	1.76±0.88
HLL	1.73±1.16	1.70±1.01	1.63±0.97	1.67±0.82
Female
FUM	0.49±0.26	0.46±0.32	0.64±0.35	0.63±0.32
FUL*†	0.21±0.19	0.23±0.22	0.34±0.26	0.19±0.15
FCM‡*§	1.12±0.55	1.09±0.57	1.38±0.53	1.49±0.79
FC	0.95±0.49	0.96±0.52	1.03±0.40	1.06±0.58
FCL	0.31±0.12	0.34±0.18	0.41±0.14	0.38±0.20
FLM	0.53±0.32	0.55±0.40	0.63±0.42	0.55±0.36
FLL	0.35±0.14	0.44±0.26	0.44±0.12	0.42±0.18
HUM*	1.58±0.97	2.15±1.04	2.09±1.25	2.08±1.36
HUL¶**	1.29±0.74	1.90±0.95	1.70±0.97	1.75±1.19
HLM	1.91±1.23	2.06±1.04	2.26±1.23	2.00±1.16
HLL	2.00±1.30	2.30±1.18	2.06±1.12	1.96±1.28

^*Significant main effect of cleat.

^†Significant main effect of fatigue.

^‡Significant main effect of sex.

^§Significant interaction of sex and cleat.

^¶Significant interaction of fatigue and cleat.

^**Significant three-way interaction.

FC, forefoot central; FCL, forefoot centre lateral; FCM, forefoot centre medial; FLL, forefoot lower lateral; FLM, forefoot lower medial; FUL, forefoot upper lateral ; FUM, forefoot upper medial ; HLL, heel lower lateral; HLM, heel lower medial ; HUL, heel upper lateral ; HUM, heel upper medial.

Four masked regions revealed statistically significant main or interaction effects. At the forefoot, FUL peak pressure was significantly affected by cleat (p<0.01), with elliptical cleats generating 18% higher peak pressure than bladed cleats. Furthermore, FUL peak pressure was significantly affected by fatigue (p<0.05), with lower peak pressure generated postfatigue. Differences in medial forefoot pressure existed at FCM, with the main effects of sex (p=0.05) and cleat (p<0.001), as well as a sex-cleat interaction (p<0.01). Males experienced 40% higher peak pressure at this stud location than females, and elliptical cleats achieved 13% higher than bladed cleats. The male elliptical condition was significantly greater than the male bladed condition (p<0.001), and the male elliptical condition was significantly greater than the female bladed condition (p<0.001).

At the heel, significant main effects of cleat were found at the HUM mask, with elliptical cleats generating 14% higher peak pressure than bladed cleats. Significant interaction effects were found at the HUL mask, both a two-way interaction effect of cleat condition and fatigue state (p<0.05) and a three-way interaction between sex, cleat condition and fatigue state (p<0.01). However, post hoc condition comparisons did not find significance.

Center of pressure

Discrete values

Descriptive statistics of COP_x, COP_y and contact time are summarised by condition in table 2. The main and interaction effects on COP position were not detected at initial contact or 0.05 s after ground contact. However, a significant main effect of sex on contact time was found (p<0.001), with females experiencing 19% longer contact time than males. Fatigue was found to have a main effect on COP_x excursion during full stance (p<0.05), increasing postfatigue.

Table 2. Mean±SD of mediolateral (COP_x) and anteroposterior (COP_y) centre of pressure positions and excursions during the cutting stance, sorted conditionally by sex, cleat condition and fatigue state (% width, % length).

	Bladed		Elliptical
	Prefatigue	Postfatigue	Prefatigue	Postfatigue
Male
COPx position: 0.05 s stance	45.89±5.88	45.78±6.73	46.04±3.93	45.86±4.71
COPy position: 0.05 s stance	51.44±12.10	51.91±10.68	51.55±10.24	51.62±8.99
COPx excursion: 0–0.05 s stance	6.13±2.94	6.18±3.35	7.75±2.54	7.87±2.52
COPy excursion: 0–0.05 s stance	16.76±7.20	15.36±6.76	15.89±5.89	16.93±5.61
COPx excursion: full stance*	19.08±5.44	21.12±4.78	19.93±4.01	22.13±4.45
COPy excursion: full stance	39.21±17.51	40.79±14.68	37.44±14.68	41.09±11.37
Contact time (ms): full stance†	267.25±27.52	255.00±30.62	264.50±36.81	252.00±33.25
Female
COPx position: 0.05 s stance	49.02±6.66	50.61±7.21	48.33±5.32	48.66±7.45
COPy position: 0.05 s stance	47.03±12.62	44.76±12.43	49.65±13.40	48.96±13.80
COPx excursion: 0–0.05 s stance	6.50±3.35	5.03±2.86	6.45±3.35	6.26±4.11
COPy excursion: 0–0.05 s stance	15.4 6±8.69	16.48±4.95	13.43±6.52	15.25±8.04
COPx excursion: full stance*	23.21±8.37	24.28±6.31	21.82±7.82	24.15±7.85
COPy excursion: full stance	45.38±15.46	47.07±15.04	45.25±17.64	43.47±18.43
Contact Time (ms): Full Stance†	299.00±35.40	309.33±45.70	319.50±50.84	305.25±50.85

^*Significant main effect of fatigue.

^†Significant main effect of sex.

COP, centre of pressure.

Time series data

SPM identified differences between fatigue states on COP_x from 95.7% to 100% of cutting stance (p<0.05; figure 3). Additional differences across sex were determined for COP_y from 96.6% to 100% of cutting stance (p<0.05; figure 4).

Figure 4. Mean (solid line) and standard deviation (shaded area) of anteroposterior (COP_y) trajectory averaged across male (blue) and female (red) participants. A higher value on the y-axis indicates a more anterior position (50% representing the halfway point between heel and hallux). The top row summarises bladed cleats; the bottom row summarises elliptical cleats. The left column presents prefatigue time series data; the right column presents postfatigue time series data. Significant sex effects were found from 96.6% to100% stance.

Discussion

This study aimed to understand how football cleat stud shape influences the loading patterns of male and female athletes as fatigue progresses. Experienced football players performed a fatiguing running and cutting protocol in bladed and elliptical cleats, and plantar pressure was analysed during anticipated 90-degree cuts. This research sought to better understand how stud parameters may uniquely affect in-cleat loading patterns, lending insights into female ACL injury aetiology.

Cleat condition

The results of this study suggest resistance offered by studs of different shapes affects peak plantar pressure at key locations during the initial stance. Across forefoot (FUL and FCM) and heel (HUM) masks, elliptical cleats generated greater peak pressure than bladed cleats during the initial stance. This finding contradicts the original hypothesis, in that the elliptical cleats caused greater peak plantar pressure than bladed cleats within the temporal window of ACL injury incidence. While previous research with unfatigued males identified bladed cleats to increase pressure and impulse across the lateral plantar surface, they also determined elliptical cleats to increase plantar pressure and force-time integrals on the medial plantar surface.⁴² In the present study, the cleat condition showed significant differences in two regions along the medial plantar surface, FCM and HUM, corroborating aspects of previous research. Bentley et al⁴² reasoned that a medial loading pattern during late stance generally followed the anticipated COP trajectory, suggesting elliptical cleats as a safer alternative. In the present study, COP_x analyses did not identify differences in cleat condition to support or refute this deduction. Located in the most anterolateral stud position, the FUL mask also had a main effect on cleat. Peak pressure across the lateral plantar surface comprises about 5% of total peak pressure across the entire plantar surface.⁴³ While differences in FUL peak pressure may be significant, their relevance may be minor. It is important to note that the previous studies only recruited male participants. These athletes were instructed to perform cuts at 70% of their maximum speed, which is well below the maximum effort required by male and female athletes in our fatigue protocol.

In the current study, the cleat with lower available traction resulted in several regions of higher peak pressure, which is opposite to what was hypothesised. This may be attributed to the fact that the in-shoe pressure measurement system only records normal forces. Movement patterns associated with ACL injury risk during jump landings demonstrated greater posterior and lateral ground reaction force components.^{44 45} Simplifying pressure analyses to uniaxial vertical force will omit the effect of shear forces during lateral cutting. The higher traction, bladed-style cleat may yield lower normal forces due to increased shear components, explaining the lower peak pressures.

Sex

A main effect of sex was found on contact time. The duration of the cutting stance was shorter for males than for females across conditions. Reduced contact time has been correlated with improved biomechanical performance outcomes,⁴⁶ which may also indicate training-level differences between our male and female cohorts. Sex differences were found at only the FCM, where males generated 40% greater peak pressure during the initial cutting stance. This observation aligns with previous works, where males had greater maximum force beneath the medial midfoot⁴⁷ and peak pressure beneath the middle forefoot⁴⁸ than females during lateral cutting. Queen et al⁴⁷ also reported greater lateral column loading among females. Though not statistically significant, the present study’s trends in COP_x position during cutting stance are consistent with this observation. The COP_x average initial contact position was 5%–10% more lateral in females than males when conditionally matched throughout the cutting stance. This can lead to increased valgus knee joint moments.⁴⁹ Similar observations can be made about the COP_y position. While not statistically significant, the average COP_y position at initial contact was 4–14% more posterior in females than males when conditionally matched. Female COP_y excursion was 6%–21% greater than males. These trends suggest there may be sex-based differences in foot strike strategy. Rearfoot strategies restrict the ankle’s range of motion, placing higher mechanical demand on the knee joint.¹⁹

A sex-cleat interaction was found at the FCM mask. Post hoc analyses revealed the male elliptical cleat condition had greater pressure than male and female bladed cleat condition. Female trends suggest elliptical cleats may generate greater peak pressure than bladed cleats at FCM during the initial stance. Previous works found elliptical cleats to generate higher medial forefoot pressure in males⁴² yet a lower maximum midfoot force in females.²⁷ While current study findings mostly align with Queen et al²⁷ and Bentley et al,⁴² the female response to stud shape does differ.

Fatigue

Fatigue progression affected mediolateral loading patterns and significantly increased mediolateral excursion across stance. Increased mediolateral excursion could indicate instability during cutting. In parallel, significant effects of fatigue were found on two laterally located masks, a main fatigue effect on FUL, and fatigue-cleat and three-way interactions on HUL. In the FUL mask, fatigue significantly decreased peak plantar pressure at the initial stance. Yet, in the HUL mask, trends suggest fatigue increased peak plantar pressure, paralleling COP_x excursion. Between the posterolateral pressure shift during the initial stance and greater mediolateral excursion, bladed cleats may adversely affect females when fatigued.

Research/policy implications

To reduce female injury risk, the effect of footwear and equipment on whole-body mechanics should be thoroughly investigated. Female products should be designed with an understanding of female-specific biomechanics.

Limitations

This study has several limitations. Lateral cutting occurred at anticipated locations during the fatigue protocol. While participants were encouraged to make sudden 90-degree cuts, they may have altered their mechanics in anticipation. Footwear used in this study was chosen to represent bladed and elliptical cleats with identical stud locations. However, the cleats were not identical in the upper material. This may have altered fit and feel. Finally, the testing surface was artificial grass, not natural grass. Like those worn in this study, firm ground cleats are designed to be worn on natural grass. However, to perform data collections year-round, an indoor facility was required. Female collegiate athletes must often wear firm ground cleats on turf surfaces, reducing the impact of this limitation.

Conclusion

This study evaluated the effect of sex and fatigue on plantar pressure and COP trajectories in cleats of differing stud geometries. Significant main and interaction effects were found across the anterior heel, medial forefoot and lateral toes. Results suggest elliptical cleats increase peak pressure during the initial cutting stance compared with bladed cleats. Systemic fatigue trended an increased posterolateral pressure and mediolateral excursion, particularly among females in bladed cleats. While this research does not provide definitive conclusions on optimal stud shape for female loading patterns, it offers evidence that male and female cutting mechanics may be affected differently by both cleat properties and induced fatigue. Results suggest the need to improve the lateral and posterior geometry and arrangement of studs for female-informed cleat design.

Equity, diversity and inclusion statement: the study includes equal representation of males and females to differentiate sex-based responses to cleat and fatigue. The research team comprises two women and one man from the USA and Canada.

Data availability statement

Data are available upon reasonable request.