Background: Taping is a preventive measure commonly used for protecting and strengthening the ankle joint to prevent further musculoskeletal damage. Ankle taping prevents excessive range of motion (ROM) of the ankle joint and allows the improvement of proprioception to adjust balance. Appropriate ankle stability is essential for various activities, such as sprinting, turning, cutting, and jumping, which are associated with agility.
Aim: To assess the acute effect of Kinesio taping and athletic taping on the ankle ROM of athletes with chronic ankle sprain during various agility tests that include sprinting, turning, and cutting actions.
Methods: Twenty-five physically active volunteers with chronic ankle sprain performed the Illinois, 5-0-5, 10-m shuttle, hexagon, compass drill, and T agility tests in 3 ankle conditions (nontaped, Kinesio taped, and athletic taped), in random order. Ankle ROM was recorded using the Vicon motion capture system.
Results: In comparison with the nontaped ankle condition, in the ankle Kinesio-taping condition, the results showed a significant increase of ankle ROM in the sprinting part of the Illinois, 5-0-5, 10-m shuttle, and T agility tests (P ≤ .01), whereas in the ankle athletic-taping condition, no significant difference was found in ankle ROM during all agility tests.
Conclusion: In sports that need linear sprinting, Kinesio taping seems to be a suitable intervention for the improvement of sports performance as it provides increased ankle ROM.
Keywords: agility drill; ankle ROM; elastic taping; nonelastic taping.