Hip Taping Positively Alters Running Kinematics in Asymptomatic Females

Abstract

Greater functional knee valgus (FKV) is thought to contribute to a greater risk of sustaining overuse running injuries. The hip is commonly implicated in greater functional knee valgus, but no studies have investigated the effects of hip taping on running kinematics. The present study investigated whether or not hip taping altered hip and knee kinematics compared to sham and no taping in female runners demonstrating excessive functional knee valgus. Lower limb stance-phase kinematics were collected from 23 female runners using three-dimensional motion capture. Participants performed over ground running at 3.5 m/s and 5.0 m/s. Three taping conditions (no tape; sham tape; hip tape) were tested. Statistical inference was performed using Statistical Parametric Mapping Hotelling’s paired t-tests, with post-hoc paired t-tests. Hip taping significantly decreased hip adduction and internal rotation angles throughout stance phase by up to 7°, compared to sham and no taping. Hip taping significantly increased knee adduction, internal rotation, flexion, and reduced peak knee flexion angles, compared to no tape. Hip taping reduced excessive hip motion by clinically meaningful magnitudes, and also benefited knee frontal and transverse plane kinematics at the slower running speed. Hip taping may provide an immediate solution in correcting FKV in running.

The immediate effects of Kinesio Taping on running biomechanics, muscle activity, and perceived changes in comfort, stability and running performance in healthy runners, and the implications to the management of Iliotibial band syndrome

“…Additionally, the coronal plane hip kinematics showed a significant decrease in peak hip abduction angle in the KTT compared to the NT condition in male participants. This is supported by Masters et al [24] who showed a significant decrease in hip adduction and internal rotation angles throughout stance when a rigid tape was applied to the hip.…”

Scoping Review of One-Dimension Statistical Parametric Mapping in Lower Limb Biomechanical Analysis

“…A total of 28 studies assessed running, 13 involving treadmill running and 15 surface running. Among these studies, ten focused on the effects of different shoes on running biomechanics, [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] three studies examined specific physical interventions, [19][20][21] three studies assessed various gait modifications, [22][23][24] three evaluated foot biomechanics, [25][26][27] two explored the effects of fatigue, 28,29 and two investigated studies the effects of sex. 30,31 Additionally, single studies examined the effects of different surfaces, 32 hamstring flexibility, 33 pertubations, 34 running with different loads, 35 and the differences between transition running and isolated running in triathlon Table 1).…”

“…Additionally, one study evaluated the inter-individual and intra-individual variability during a squat (Table 4). 70 The median number of participants was 15 [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20].…”

“…Three studies assessed the quadriceps or hamstrings muscle force curve produced by an isokinetic machine; They examined the influence of fatigue 75 and sex 76 on force production, as well as the kinetics and kinematics of eccentric, quasi-isometric loading (Table 4). 77 The median number of participants was 17 [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28].…”