The Acute Effect of Kinesio Taping on Balance and Proprioception

Overview

Kinesio tape will be applied to the leg muscles of two groups of healthy and young participants using a specific taping technique. After the application of the tape, assessments of balance and proprioception will be conducted. The taping will be performed bilaterally on both legs, and for all participants, taped and untaped measurements will be carried out bilaterally on alternating days within the same week. Prior to the assessments, all participants will be asked to complete a 5-minute warm-up session on a bicycle ergometer, followed by four sets of 30-second static stretching exercises for the leg and hip muscles, with 30-second rest intervals between each set. In this way, the acute effects of kinesio taping on balance and proprioception will be investigated.

This study aims to examine the acute effects of kinesio taping (KT) applied to the hamstring and quadriceps muscle groups on balance and proprioception in healthy young male individuals. The primary objective of the study is to determine whether kinesio taping enhances proprioceptive feedback in the targeted muscle groups and whether this has a short-term impact on postural balance. As balance and proprioception are critically important for daily functional activities and sports performance, they will be evaluated using objective assessment methods in this research. The study will include 20 healthy and voluntary male participants. Participants will be divided into two groups: real taping and placebo taping. For each participant, one leg will be randomly assigned to the experimental group (real KT application), and the other leg to the control group (placebo). All interventions and assessments will be conducted in a double-blind design, where the assessor will not know which leg received which application. All participants will begin with a 5-minute warm-up on a bicycle ergometer, followed by four sets of 30-second static stretching exercises targeting the hamstring, quadriceps, and gluteal muscles, with 30-second rest intervals between sets. The kinesio tape will be applied using the facilitation technique described by Kase et al., from origin to insertion (proximal to distal). Proprioception will be assessed using an isokinetic dynamometer through the Active Joint Position Reproduction (AJPR) test. Participants will be asked to actively reproduce specific knee angles, and the differences between the actual and reproduced angles will be recorded for analysis. Postural balance will be assessed using the CSMI-TecnoBody PK-252 balance analysis system, through both static and dynamic tests. In the static test, participants will stand on a stable platform with eyes open while their balance is measured. In the dynamic test, participants will follow a predefined movement path using their feet on a moving platform to assess balance performance. At the end of the study, the collected data will be statistically analyzed to determine whether kinesio taping has an acute positive effect on balance and proprioception. The findings will be evaluated for their potential contributions to physical activity, athlete health, and rehabilitation practices.