Tabitha Shepherd
ESS 150
Prof. Foreman
9/22/09
Work Cited:
DeBeliso M, Halseth T, Lien J, McChesney JW, Vaughn R. The effects of kinesio taping on proprioception at the ankle.J of Sports Sci. and Med.2004;3:1-7.
Taping Effects
Purpose:Determine whether the effect of the kinesio tape, and the tape method used would cause ankle proprioception using the reproduction joint position sense.
Methods:Many different exercises were performed to figure out whether or not the hypothesis was correct. There were 15 females and 15 males, that each filled out a questionnaire about medical history, age, gender, and other questions. Any subject that had an ankle injury was not allowed to participate in the study. All the subjects were pre-examined by an athletic trainer for any ankle abnormalities in tendons, ligaments, nerves, and bones. The ankle was then measured by the reproduction of joint position sense, the measurements were taken for plantar flexion and inversion before and after putting the kinesio tape on the ankle. The ankle positions were measured by using a platform, that had a moveable footplate, which had a potentiometer attached to it. The data was collected by having the subjects blindfolded and having headphones on, and collected by a digital board. Each subject was asked to push a button, when they felt as they had repositioned their ankle correctly as it was. There were five trials for the untapped and 5 trials for the taped ankle.Results:The authors found the kinesio tape didn’t have any effect of the changes or error among the genders in plantar flexion or inversion. There were no differences between the taped an untapped ankles to cause better proprioception when measured by the reproduction joint position sense. Though Murray’s results on another study found that kinesio tape enhanced the reproduction joint position sense through the increase of cutaneous stimulation.Conclusion:Kinesio tape doesn’t enhance the reproduction joint position sense, and that the hypotheses was not supported by the information collected. The authors also concluded that in order to know the effects of the kinesio tape on proprioception, that further research must by conducted. The results of the authors were supported by the literature, and proved that more research is needed in order to prove their hypotheses.Interpretation: The study was practical because there are always ankle injuries, and ankle taping is a major part of athletics. Looking for new forms of taping that will work, and help with ankle injuries and flexion is always a goal for athletic trainers or medical professionals. I believe that there needs to be more research done, because kinesio tape, though it is more flexible didn’t show any difference with flexibility then non-taped ankles. I could apply the information that I have learned from this article as a physical therapist, by using white tape to tape ankles for injuries, and to not use kinesio tape for flexibility. The reason for taping is to help support an ankle when injuries occur, and though there is always research trying to come up with other reasons to tape ankles, it doesn’t seem as kinesio tape really helps. I believe that an athlete needs to protect their limbs and as a career in physical therapy I will help with injuries and prevention of injuries but not with flexibility.