BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an ACL Kinesio Taping technique (ACL-KT) on knee joint biomechanics during a drop vertical jump (DVJ).MethodsTwenty healthy male participants (age 21.1±0.3 years; mass 64.2±4.3 kg; height 174.2±5.5 cm) participated in this study. The participants performed a DVJ and landed onto 2 adjacent force platforms under both ACL-KT and placebo (PT) conditions. All data were collected with 3-D motion analysis and comparison peak knee joint angles and moments, and knee joint angle at initial contact (IC) between conditions analyzed using a paired sample t-test. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) was selected to assess difference between groups for the entire three-component knee trajectory during the contact phase.ResultsACL-KT had a significant effect on decreasing knee abduction angle at IC (1.43±2.12 deg.) compared with the PT (−1.24±2.42 deg.) (p=0.04). A significant difference in knee abduction angle between the taping conditions was found between 100 ms before IC, at IC and 100 ms after IC (p<0.05). There were no significant differences (p>0.05) found between conditions in any of the other variables.ConclusionThis result confirmed that the application of ACL-KT is useful to reduce knee abduction angle at IC during a DVJ in healthy participants. Therefore, ACL-KT may be an acceptable intervention to reduce ACL injury risk.Trial registrationRetrospective registered on 25 September 2018. Trial number: TCTR20180926005

Abstract.[Purpose] Elastic therapeutic tape has been widely used for rehabilitation and treatment of sports injuries. Tapes with different elastic properties serve different treatment purposes with inappropriate tension reducing tape effectiveness. Many tapes are available in the market, but studies on tape properties are limited. The aim of this study was to examine the material properties of elastic therapeutic tape. [Subjects and Methods] Brands of elastic therapeutic tape included KinesioTex ® , ATex, Mueller, 3M, and ThaiTape. The Material Testing System Insight ® 1 Electromechanical Testing Systems was used to apply a tensile force on elastic therapeutic tape. Ten specimens of each brand were tested. Stress, load, and Young's modulus at 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, and maximum point were collected. One-way analysis of variance with post hoc testing was used to analyze tape parameters.[Results] Maximum elongation and Young's modulus at all percentages were significantly different between brands. There were no differences in maximum load and maximum stress.[Conclusion] Mechanical properties are different for commercial elastic therapeutic tapes. Physiotherapists and other clinicians should be aware of mechanical tape properties to correctly apply kinesio tape.

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