| Objective:During sports activities,as the duration and intensity of exercise increase,the human body gradually enters a state of fatigue.Compared with the healthy population,patients with functional ankle instability(FAI)are more affected by fatigue,which greatly increases the risk of injury.Kinesio tape(KT),due to its non-invasive,convenient,safe and comfortable properties,has been widely used to prevent various sports injuries.However,there is little research on the neuromuscular control related to KT in preventing fatigue in FAI populations.Therefore,this study aims to explore the immediate effects of different taping methods of KT on posture control and proprioception in FAI patients,in order to provide a certain reference for the clinical use of KT.Methods:This study recruited 28 patients with FAI(15 males and 13 females,age 21.2±2.0 years,height 172.3±8.0 cm,weight 64.1±10.1 kg).During the experiment,on the first day,the participants’ ankle joint strength,proprioception,and dynamic/static postural control were measured in a non-fatigued state.After completing the measurements,one of four randomly selected intervention methods,namely Facilitatory Kinesio Taping(FKT),Ankle Balance Taping(ABT),Sham Taping(ST),or No Taping(NT),was applied by an experienced physiotherapist.And then completed the fatigue protocol,once reach the fatigue standard,post-fatigue testing was performed using the same methods as pre-fatigue testing.The washout period between different intervention methods was one week.The local fatigue protocol was performed using an isokinetic dynamometer,with the participant lying on the testing platform and performing repeated maximum isometric contractions of dorsiflexion/plantar flexion until the peak torque decreased to less than half of the initial value.Proprioception was also measured using the isokinetic dynamometer to measure joint position sense and force sense of dorsiflexion/plantar flexion.Dynamic postural control was assessed using the Y-Balance test.Static postural control was measured using a force plate to record changes in the center of pressure during 10 seconds of single-leg standing with eyes open and closed.In addition,after all tests were completed,a visual analog scale was used to assess participants’ perceived stability and comfort level for different taping methods.A paired-samples t-test was used to determine whether there was a statistical difference in each test index before and after fatigue under non-taped conditions.One-way repeated measures ANOVA was used in determining whether a significant difference exists amongst the taping conditions.Statistical significance was set at alpha<0.05.Bonferroni tests were conducted for post-hoc analysis when the effect of the test was significant.All data were analyzed with SPSS 26(IBM Corp.,Armonk,NY,United States).Results:1.Proprioception test:After local muscle fatigue,the position sense error of ankle dorsiflexion significantly increases,and different taping conditions have no significant improvement on proprioception after fatigue.2.Muscle strength test:After local muscle fatigue,the peak torque of ankle dorsiflexion/plantarflexion significantly decreases,but there is no significant difference in muscle strength under different taping conditions.3.Dynamic postural control test:After local muscle fatigue,significant differences are found in all three directions of Y-balance test,and there are also statistical differences in the posterior lateral[F(3,81)=11.9,p<0.001,η2=0.291]and posterior medial[F(3,81)=7.099,p<0.001,η2=0.208]directions under different taping conditions.Post-hoc analysis show that the reaching distance in the posterior lateral direction of FKT was significantly higher than that of NT(p<0.001,95%CI=2.360-9.839)and ST(p<0.001,95%CI=2.413-7.777)conditions.And the reaching distance of the ABT was significantly higher than that of NT condition(p<0.001,95%CI=1.937-8.941)and ST condition(p<0.001,95%CI=1.796-7.075).In the posterior medial direction,post-hoc analysis shows that the reaching distance of the FKT(p=0.003,95%CI=2.005-12.242)and ABT(p<0.001,95%CI=2.378-10.138)conditions were significantly higher than that of NT condition.4.Static postural control test:After local fatigue,the mediolateral COP displacement significantly increase when eyes were closed.A significant difference was found amongst the four taping treatments for mediolateral COP displacement[F(3,81)=9.116,p<0.001,η2=0.252]and velocity variability[F(3,81)=4.344,p<0.001,η2=0.139]when eyes were closed.The post-hoc analysis showed that the mediolateral COP displacement of NT was significantly larger than that of FKT(p=0.003,95%CI=1.093-6.406 mm)and ST(p<0.001,95%CI=1.472-5.630 mm).The velocity variability of the mediolateral COP under the NT condition is significantly greater than that under the ST condition(p=0.012,95%CI=7.674-85.728mm).No statistically significant differences were found in the other indices.5.Perceived stability and comfort:There are significant differences in perceived stability between different taping methods[F(3,81)=14.765,p<0.001,η2=0.354].Post-hoc analysis shows that the subjective stability under the FKT condition is significantly higher than that under the NT condition(p=0.001,95%CI=0.699-3.308),and the perceived stability under the ABT condition is significantly higher than the NT condition(p<0.001,95%CI=1.456-3.951)and ST(p=0.005,95%CI=0.369-2.695).In terms of perceived comfort,no significant differences were found between the different taping methods[F(1.892,51.091)=0.504,P=0.597,η2=0.018].Conclusion:This study found that local muscle fatigue led to decreased muscle strength and dynamic/static postural control in people with FAI,which may increase the risk of re-injury to the ankle.Although the use of KT could not improve the muscle strength,proprioception and static postural control after fatigue in subjects with FAI,it could effectively improve dynamic postural control and have a certain psychological comfort effect,which may help to reduce the risk of ankle injury,so KT is worth promoting as a protective method for ankle injury.There is no significant difference in effectiveness between different KT methods,so in clinical use,the physician or rehabilitator can choose the most appropriate method for the patient based on the patient’s specific situation combined with his or her own experience and other factors. |
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