Effects of Ankle Kinesio Tape Intervention on Dynamic Balance in Participants with Functional Ankle Instability

Abstract

Functional Ankle Instability (FAI) is a chronic residual loss of dynamic stability following ankle sprain, which is common in athletic activities. Impaired balance observed in individuals with FAI may be caused by impaired muscle activity due to proprioceptive deficits related to traumatic joint damage. Anecdotally, Kinesio tape has been reported to improve muscle activity and proprioception due to its effect on the skin’s cutaneous mechanoreceptors. PURPOSE: To determine whether application of Kinesio tape to individuals with FAI will improve balance over a three-day wearing period. METHODS: The study was a cross-sectional design using a laboratory setting. 32 individuals (13 males and 19 females; age = 21 ± 1 yrs; height = 175 ± 11 cm; mass = 92 ± 5 kg) who were classified as having FAI participated. Water-resistant Kinesio tape was applied to subjects and worn for three days over which there were two test conditions during two sessions: pre-taping treatment (Day 1 no-treatment (NT)), immediate post-treatment (Day 1 Kinesio Taping (KT)), after tape application on day 3 (Day 3 KT), and after tape removal at the 2nd session (Day 3 NT). The taping application was the ankle complex kinesio taping technique (a combination of five taping methods). The effect of dynamic balance was measured through the normalized reach distances across the anteromedial (AM), medial (M), and posteromedial (PM) directions in the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) for each taping condition. Dynamic stability was compared between testing conditions using a 1 × 4 repeated measures ANOVA (p < 0.05). RESULTS: For all three directions (AM, M, PM) there were significant differences between all of the taping conditions except between Day 3 KT and Day 3 NT (p<0.05). Day 3 KT showed a significant improvement as a benefit of the taping application comparing to the baseline data. The power for all three variables was high (0.906-0.998), with moderate effect sizes from 0.364 to 0.544. CONCLUSIONS: Kinesio taping application may benefit those with FAI by increasing dynamic balance as shown in the SEBT. The apparent immediate and intermediate term effects of Kinesio tape (Day 1 NT vs Day 1 KT) and (Day 1 NT vs Day 3 KT) on dynamic balance show potential for benefits to the rehabilitation process.