Affiliations: [a] Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation,
Hacettepe University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ankara, Turkey
Note: [] Address for correspondence: Gul Baltaci, PT Ph.D.FACSM,
Hacettepe University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy
and Rehabilitation, 06100 Ankara, Turkey. Tel.: +90 312 3051478; Fax: +90 312
3052012; E-mail: ybaltaci@hacettepe.edu.tr
Abstract: Context: Knee injuries which are the most common disabling injuries
in both athletic and physically active people, can be expected to occur with
all sporting activities especially contact sports. Therefore, knee braces and
taping techniques are widely used to reduce and/or prevent the severity and
incidence of knee injuries in sports. Objective: To determine which
application, knee brace, kinesiotaping (KT) or both, is more effective
regarding muscular strength and functional performance. Design: A prospective, criterion-based controlled study. Setting: University research laboratory. Patients or other participants: Twenty (11 F, 9M)
healthy subjects with no previous history of lower extremity injuries and using
knee brace and KT were included in this study. Main outcome measures: Muscular strength, and jump performance were tested with knee brace,
kinesiotaping and both applications. Repeated measures ANOVA was performed to
determine if there were differences between braced, taped and both conditions.
Participants filled in a questionnaire regarding demographic and lower
extremity problems. Results: Kinesiotape application brought about a
significant increase in hop distance (p=0.015, P=0.018) in both the
dominant and non-dominant extremity and in isokinetic knee extension peak
torque (p=0.034) at 180°/s. Conclusion: KT application was
more effective in terms of muscular strength and jump performance than knee
brace and KT plus knee brace. Physical therapists and athletic trainers may
apply KT to a patient during or after treatment and rehabilitation to support
knee musculature, to encourage the tissue healing process, and to avoid
limiting the enhancement of improved knee muscle performance.
