The purpose of this crossover randomized controlled trial was to verify the effect of Kinesio Taping (KT) applied to the triceps surae with the aim to improve muscle performance during vertical jump (VJ), horizontal jump (HJ), and dynamic balance (DB) in healthy college athletes. The participants were 20 athletes (11 men) who competed in 4 different sports modalities (track and field, handball, volleyball, and soccer). Participants had a mean age of 22.3 ± 3.3 years, mean height of 1.74 ± 0.08 m, and mean body mass of 67.8 ± 10.1 kg. The intervention consisted of applying KT from the origin of the triceps surae to its insertion with the purpose of increasing muscle performance, and the placebo consisted of applying tape with nonelastic properties. There were no significant differences between KT and placebo conditions for height (m) in VJ (KT, 0.18 ± 0.06; placebo, 0.17 ± 0.06; p = 0.14), distance (m) in HJ (KT, 1.48 ± 0.3; placebo, 1.47 ± 0.3; p = 0.40), and DB in distance reached (m) in the star excursion balance test, normalized by lower limb length (anterior: KT, 90.0 ± 6.7; placebo, 89.5 ± 7.5; p = 0.56; posterolateral: KT, 92.5 ± 7.5; placebo, 93.2 ± 5.8; p = 0.52; posteromedial: KT, 98.3 ± 6.7; placebo, 98.7 ± 7.4; p = 0.69). The KT technique was not found to be useful in improving performance in some sports-related movements in healthy college athletes; therefore, KT applied to the triceps surae should not be considered by athletes when the sole reason of the application is to increase performance during jumping and balance.

No abstract

This study aimed to analyse the kinematic, kinetic and electromyographic characteristics of four front crawl flip turn technique variants. The variants distinguished from each other by differences in body position (i.e., dorsal, lateral, ventral) during rolling, wall support, pushing and gliding phases. Seventeen highly trained swimmers (17.9 ± 3.2 years old) participated in interventional sessions and performed three trials of each variant, being monitored with a 3-D video system, a force platform and an electromyography (EMG) system. Studied variables: rolling time and distance, wall support time, push-off time, peak force and horizontal impulse at wall support and push-off, centre of mass horizontal velocity at the end of the push-off, gliding time, centre of mass depth, distance, average and final velocity during gliding, total turn time and electrical activity of Gastrocnemius Medialis, Tibialis Anterior, Biceps Femoris and Vastus Lateralis muscles. Depending on the variant, total turn time ranged from 2.37 ± 0.32 to 2.43 ± 0.33 s, push-off force from 1.86 ± 0.33 to 1.92 ± 0.26 BW and centre of mass velocity during gliding from 1.78 ± 0.21 to 1.94 ± 0.22 m · s(-1). The variants were not distinguishable in terms of kinematical, kinetic and EMG parameters during the rolling, wall support, pushing and gliding phases.

No abstract

The results suggest that SMR of the posterior thigh and calf muscles acutely increases the ROM of both hip flexion and ankle dorsiflexion and that duplicating the SMR volume from 10 to 20 repetitions per set seems not to promote additional gains.