Acute effects of kinesio taping on muscular strength and endurance parameters of the finger flexors in sport climbing: A randomised, controlled crossover trial

Abstract

Kinesio taping (KT) is a commonly used intervention in sports and, recently, KT has become popular among athletes competing in sport climbing and bouldering events. However, evidence on the effect of KT on grip strength and endurance is still controversial. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate immediate effects of KT on muscular strength and endurance of the finger flexor muscles in sport climbers. Twenty recreationally-trained active sport climbers (10 men, 10 women) aged 28.5 ± 10.6 years performed one familiarisation trial and subsequently, in a randomised crossover design, two test trials either with (TAPE) or without (CONTROL) KT over the finger flexor muscles. Test trials consisted of three performance measurements (hand grip strength and endurance, finger hang, and lap climbing) at intervals of 48 h in a randomised order. We observed no significant differences in the parameters of hand grip peak force, fatigue index, finger hang time, lap climbing distance and time, or maximum blood lactate values after lap climbing between the TAPE and CONTROL trials (p > 0.05). The participants' climbing ability was significantly correlated with the intra-individual performance changes between the TAPE and CONTROL conditions for the fatigue index (r = −0.598, p = 0.005), but not in any of the other performance-related parameters. Therefore, KT over the finger flexor muscles neither enhanced hand grip strength and endurance nor the sport climbing performance parameters of finger hang, lap climbing distance and time, and maximum blood lactate values after lap climbing.

MBboard: Validity and Reliability of a New Tool Developed to Evaluate Specific Strength in Rock Climbers

“…To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to develop a low-cost and easy-to-build tool (i.e., MBboard) to assist in the evaluation of upper-limb strength in rock climbers. The MBboard was designed in order to meet the specific upper body muscular demand of rock climbing which has been characterized by high-intensity isometric contraction of the forearms combined with dynamic whole-body movements ( Limmer et al, 2019 ). Considering that there was no method universally accepted as gold standard for the measurement of maximal strength in rock climbers ( Michailov et al, 2018 ), previous studies have adopted the strategy to obtain construct validity evidence of field and laboratory tests by comparison between individuals with different rock climbing experience and/or by association with climbing ability self-reported by rock climbers ( Brent et al, 2009 ; Grant et al, 1996 ; López-Rivera and González-Badillo, 2019 ; Michailov et al, 2018 ).…”

Kinesiology Tape: A Descriptive Survey of Healthcare Professionals in the United States

“…The current evidence contradicts these directional techniques. [111][112][113][114] The survey focused on tape tension length only versus direc-tional strategies. Finally, this survey was sent to members of three professional organizations.…”

The Effects of Forearm Kinesio-Taping on Hand Grip Strength and Endurance in Female Squash Elites

“…Lee et al (12), Lemos et al (13), and Kouhzad Mohammadi et al (14) indicated an enormous increase in grip strength following the KT. While Chang et al (8), Limmer et al (15), and Zhang et al (16) declared that KT was not able to change hand grip. There is controversial evidence about the influence of KT on grip power (15,16).…”