Kinesiology taping length and dynamic balance control in individuals with chronic ankle instability

To explore the effect of different lengths of kinesiology taping (KT) on dynamic balance control in individuals with and without chronic ankle instability (CAI). Thirty-one participants (16 CAI, 15 non-CAI) volunteered, and all of them were tested for dynamic balance with KT taping of varied strip lengths, in a random sequence, with taping conditions being: above-ankle taping (short taping), below-knee taping (mid taping), and above-knee taping (long taping). Dynamic balance was measured by the Y-Balance test (YBT) with three reaching directions; anterior (YBT-A), posteromedial (YBT-PM), posterolateral (YBT-PL), untaped at enrolment and immediately after each taping condition. Non-CAI participants consistently outperformed CAI all YBT measures made in the untaped condition (all p<0.05). Linear mixed model (LMM) analysis suggested there were significant KT-Group interactions reflecting reducing inter-group difference as tape length increased for YBT-C (F_{(3, 29)} = 5.599, p = 0.016, ES = 0.104), YBT-PM (F _{(3, 29)} = 3.53, p = 0.018, ES = 0.102) and YBT-PL (F _{(3, 29)} = 2.72, p = 0.049, ES = 0.008), but not YBT-A (F _{(3, 29)} = 1.44, p = 0.236). Paired t-tests suggested that in the CAI group, compared to the untaped condition, YBT-PM scores increased in all taping conditions, with mean difference (MD) from 3.5 to 7.0% (t = 2.17–5.17, p = 0.00-0.046, 95%CI = −9.83, −0.07), whereas YBT-C (MD = 4.2%, t = 1.03, p = 0.001, 95%CI = −6.36, −1.97) and YBT-PL scores (MD = 5.3%, t = 3.9, p = 0.001, 95%CI = −8.18, −2.41) increased only in the long-taping condition. 

KT taping can improve dynamic balance for individuals with CAI to a level of those without CAI. Longer KT taping seems to show superior effects. However, individuals without CAI may not benefit from KT taping when performing a dynamic balance task.