Effect of Kinesiotaping on Ankle Stability

Effect of Kinesiotaping on Ankle Stability in a Population of Elite Basketball Players

Ankles sprains are the most popular injuries in basketball players. They are traumatic injuries, which happen most of the time in specific situations, like landing on another player's foot, or during changes of direction.

Neuromuscular exercises are very important to improve ankle stability and reduce risks of sprains. However various external support such as ankles braces and rigid tape, are also used in order to prevent injury.

The kinesiotape (KT) is a new but broadly used method in the world of athletes. Created by KenzoKase, in 1980, this kind of tape has a tremendous success with athletes and is today commonly used during practices and/or competitions. The main property of this tape is its elasticity, which is supposed to improve proprioception and, thus ankle stability, but these aspects have not been investigated yet.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sprain and Strain of Ankle
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Leukotape K; Device: Sham kinesiotape

Detailed Description

Aim: Compare the effects of a kinesiotape (KT) with a sham treatment (KT put with no effects) and a control condition (absence of tape) in basketball players from the Swiss national league through balance tests on an unstable surface.

Hypotheses: A KT positioned on the lateral side of the leg improves ankle stability in basketball players while balancing on an unstable surface.

Method: 30 subjects will be recruited from different basketball teams affiliated to the Swiss national league. They will have to perform some postural stability tests on both unstable ("Delos") and stable surfaces ("Single Les Stance", "Star Excursion Balance Test", "Cross Over Hop Test for Distance") under three different conditions. The three condition will be as followed : with a KT positioned on the lateral side of the leg, with a sham tape or without tape. The three sessions will be spaced in time (7 days of wash out). The order of the three interventions (KT, Sham tape, no tape) will be randomized (cross over) to avoid the bias of learning processes. Neither the subjects nor the examiner will be aware of the "tape condition" (double blind); a physiotherapist will be in charge of positioning the tape according to the tested condition.

The sequence of the tests will be the same for all subjects and breaks are scheduled to avoid the effect of the fatigue. An anamnesis of all subjects will be done in order to evaluate history of injuries. At the end of each session, a visual analogical scale will be completed by the athlete to obtain a personal feeling of stability . The subject will be also asked to determine which condition was tested.

Expected results: the application of a KT on the lateral side of the leg improves postural stability on instable surfaces in elite basketball players.

Field's importance: the application of KT may reduce the risk of ankle sprains and the recurrence of sprains in a population of athletes at risk.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 20
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Switzerland
  • Valais
    • Sion, Valais, Switzerland, 1951
      • Clinique romande de réadaptation

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 15 years to 35 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• active elite basketball players

Exclusion Criteria:

• no history of ankle sprain in the last 6 weeks
• no history of any other lower limbs lesion in the last 6 weeks

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Leukotape K, basketball training; Use of Leukotape K to ensure stability of the ankle in basketball players	Device: Leukotape K; All interventions will be performed by a qualified physiotherapist in a standardized manner. Tape will be extended to the recommended length (120%) and applied along the outer side of the leg, along the path of the peroneal muscle. Starting in the middle of the foot arch, the tape ends 1 cm below tibial head.; Other Names: Leukotape K, Johnson & Johnson
Placebo Comparator: Sham, basketball training; Use of sham tape	Device: Sham kinesiotape; KT put with no effects

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Effect of kinesiotaping on postural stability	To assess postural stability, the following parameters will be measured: Autonomy: This measure represents the time the subject can stay on the mobile board without the use of his hand to maintain equilibrium. Mean axis spacing: This measure will be performed using an accelerometer localized on the sternum of the subjects. This device will allow us to calculate displacement of the chest (degrees of inclination). Mean error of the board: This parameter represents numerically the inclination of the board during the test. It allows to estimate the stability of the subjects' ankle (unit=degrees). The larger this value is the lower the stability will be. An estimation of total equilibrium between each subject will be assessed using the two parameters listed here above (mean axis spacing + mean error of the board) following recommendation of the manufacturer.	For each subject outcome will be assessed in the 3 weeks following the beginning of the study.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Time Frame
EVA scale to evaluate the sensation of postural stability	Assessment will be performed within 3 weeks after the beginning of the study

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Clinique Romande de Readaptation
• Collaborators: University of Lausanne
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Yan Eggel, MD, Clinique romande de réadaptation; Principal Investigator: Lia Volpe, Student, Institut des Sciences du Sport de l'Université de Lausanne; Study Director: Olivier Dériaz, Md, PhD, Institut de Recherche en Readaptation; Study Director: Jérôme Barral, PhD, Institut des Sciences du Sport de l'Université de Lausanne

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: February 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 1, 2014
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 14, 2014
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 14, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): April 15, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 31, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 29, 2019
• Last Verified: July 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Kinestiotaping; Basketball players; Effect of kinesiotaping; on postural stability
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Sprains and Strains
• Other Study ID Numbers: CliniqueRR-02