Educating Patients About Soccer Cleat Design

A competitive soccer player recently came into my office with a new $250 pair of Adidas adiPower Predator TRX FG soccer cleats. When he asked me to evaluate his cleats, I was shocked to discover that they sat everted on the table as the image at left shows.

New cleats should never do this. In fact, when cleats wear this way, athletes should immediately replace them. Adidas’ Product Defect Department assured me that its cleats are designed level. However, a trip to the Adidas Sport Performance Store in San Francisco confirmed that every new pair of adiPower Predators was manufactured in this way.

At right is an image of a new pair of Adidas F50 adiZero TRX FG soccer cleats resting level on a flat surface. This is what you want to look for when shopping for any shoe, cleated or otherwise.

With the majority of shoe manufacturing being outsourced overseas, there is a loss of quality control. It is therefore more important than ever to educate our patients about proper shoe design as well as fit and wear. The adiPower Predator TRX FG is an improperly designed shoe, which can cause serious medial foot and ankle injury, especially in players with an already pronated foot.

Although you cannot be with your patients when they buy shoes, you can guide them to make smart purchases. In this case, your advice should be to steer clear of any cleated shoe (soccer, baseball, football, golf, etc.) that does not sit level or wears everted over time.