Effect of kinesio-taping on ankle joint stability

Ankle Instability is characterized by recurrent giving way and often develops after repeated lateral ankle sprains. Kinesiotape is more elastic than traditional athletic tape and is becoming increasingly popular. It is reported to decrease pain, improve muscle function, circulation and proprioception, however, research examining the effects of Kinesiotape in ankle instability is limited. The objective of this study was to determine if applying Kinesiotape to unstable ankle may improve performance in the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), which has been shown to be a sensitive and reliable measure for quantifying dynamic balance. Thirty subjects with first degree ankle sprain were participated in this study. SEBT was used to test the subject dynamic balance under three conditions; without taping, with white athletic tape and with kinesiotape. One way repeated measure ANOVA using Greenhouse-Geisser corrections were conducted to evaluate differences in SEBT for the three conditions. Pairwise comparison of the outcome measures in the three occasions (without taping, with athletic taping, and with kinesio taping) revealed statistically significant differences of all outcomes between occasion 1 (without taping) and occasion 2 (with athletic taping) favoring the athletic taping (p<0.05). Also, a statistically significant difference between occasion 1 (without taping) and occasion 3 (with kinesio taping) were found (p<0.05) favoring kinesio taping. Moreover, pairwise comparison of the ankle stability outcomes using athletic taping versus kinesio taping indicated a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) in favor of kinesio taping measures. Conclusion: kinesiotape has superior effect than athletic tape in patients with first degree ankle sprain and can be used safely for improving ankle joint stability.