Kinesio Tape and force sense in functional ankle instability
Kinesio taping (KT) is a hot topic with many professional and amateur athletes using it but the medical literature does not show a clear benefit. The authors of this study wanted to focus on evaluating the effectiveness of KT on force sense in patients with ankle instability. Force sense is conscious proprioceptive sense that measures the ability to detect muscular force or tension. A decreased force sense can result in inability to stabilize a joint leading to possible injuries which at the ankle can manifest as lateral ankle sprains or functional ankle instability (FAI).
28 subjects were divided equally into a control group with no prior ankle injury and FAI group. The FAI group received lateral ankle sprain KT taping while control group received no taping. Force sense was tested at baseline, right after KT application and 72 hours after KT application.
Force sense errors were significantly improved in FAI group after 72 hours of KT application and the authors concluded that KT tape is an appropriate treatment option to improve proprioception.
> From: Simon et al., Clin J Sport Med 24 (2014) 289-294. All rights reserved to Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Click here for the Pubmed summary.
