Immediate effect of kinesiology tape on ankle stability

Abstract

BackgroundLateral ankle sprain is one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries, particularly among the sporting population. Due to such prevalence, many interventions have been tried to prevent initial, or further, ankle sprains. Current research shows that the use of traditional athletic tape can reduce the incidence of sprain recurrence, but this may be at a cost to athletic performance through restriction of motion. Kinesiology tape, which has become increasingly popular, is elastic in nature, and it is proposed by the manufacturers that it can correct ligament damage. Kinesiology tape, therefore, may be able to improve stability and reduce ankle sprain occurrence while overcoming the problems of traditional tape.AimTo assess the effect of kinesiology tape on ankle stability.Methods27 healthy individuals were recruited, and electromyography (EMG) measurements were recorded from the peroneus longus and tibialis anterior muscles. Recordings were taken from the muscles of the dominant leg during induced sudden ankle inversion perturbations using a custom-made tilting platform system. This was performed with and without using kinesiology tape and shoes, creating four different test conditions: barefoot(without tape), shoe(without tape), barefoot(with tape) and shoe(with tape). For each test condition, the peak muscle activity, average muscle activity and the muscle latency were calculated.ResultsNo significant difference (p>0.05) was found by using the kinesiology tape on any of the measured variables while the wearing of shoes significantly increased all the variables.ConclusionKinesiology tape has no effect on ankle stability and is unable to nullify the detrimental effects that shoes appear to have.

Kinesio taping does not improve ankle functional or performance in people with or without ankle injuries: Systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Fourteen studies investigated the effects of Kinesio taping on muscle activity in three populations. 35,43,44,74,75,78,81,82,94,96 –100 Meta-analyses were only carried out for healthy people.…”

Compression enhances lower‐limb somatosensation in individuals with poor somatosensation, but impairs performance in individuals wth good somatosensation

“…35 A potential reason for this is apparent inter-study differences in taping procedures and/or the smaller level of tactile feedback and cutaneous sense as compared with compression garments. 35 Compression-induced increases in skin stretch may be interpreted in the nervous system as a greater discharge of the appropriate mechanoreceptors, which could alter excitability at multiple levels of the nervous system. 6 In support of this, plantar cutaneous electrical stimulation has been reported to alter the excitability of the soleus stretch and H-reflexes, most notably in the heel.…”

“…It is possible compression may tighten the skin around the ankle joint, which results in relatively more skin stretch during the inversion/eversion task; this in turn may increase cutaneous stimulation and afferent signals to the somatosensory centres 34 . Kinesiology taping has previously been used in an attempt to elicit a similar somatosensory response; however, data to support its benefit for improving somatosensory sensitivity at the ankle joint are lacking 35 . A potential reason for this is apparent inter‐study differences in taping procedures and/or the smaller level of tactile feedback and cutaneous sense as compared with compression garments 35 .…”

“…Kinesiology taping has previously been used in an attempt to elicit a similar somatosensory response; however, data to support its benefit for improving somatosensory sensitivity at the ankle joint are lacking 35 . A potential reason for this is apparent inter‐study differences in taping procedures and/or the smaller level of tactile feedback and cutaneous sense as compared with compression garments 35 . Compression‐induced increases in skin stretch may be interpreted in the nervous system as a greater discharge of the appropriate mechanoreceptors, which could alter excitability at multiple levels of the nervous system 6 .…”

Effect of laterality and fatigue in peroneal electromechanical delay

“…The most common ankle injury is the one that combines rapid inversion and internal rotation of the foot with a subsequent injury to the lateral ligaments of the ankle [ 1 , 16 – 18 ]. Although this injury is usually assumed to be benign, a group of patients will develop recurrent sprains and chronic ankle instability [ 9 , 19 , 20 ]. The peroneal muscles seem to play a preventive role in the lateral ankle sprain by preventing excessive inversion [ 3 , 21 – 24 ].…”