Immediate effects of ankle balance taping with kinesiology tape on the dynamic balance of young players with functional ankle instability.
BACKGROUND
Soccer, one of the most popular and well-known sports worldwide, involves complex motions such as running, quick changes in direction, jumping, and landing, all of which have a high risk of injury. Among them, ankle injuries are the most frequent.


OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the immediate effects of ankle balance taping (ABT) with kinesiology tape on the dynamic balance of young male soccer players with functional ankle instability (FAI).


METHODS
Nine young male soccer players with FAI in their dominant ankle were randomly subjected to no-, placebo-, and real-ABT conditions. After the appropriate treatment was administered, the dynamic balance was measured using the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT).


RESULTS
In terms of the anterior and posterolateral reach distances on the SEBT, the real-ABT condition showed statistically significant increases compared to the no- and placebo-ABT conditions (p < 0.05), while in the case of posteromedial reach distances, the real-ABT condition showed a statistically significant increase (p < 0.05) compared to the no-ABT condition.


CONCLUSIONS
ABT using kinesiology tape can be expected to improve the dynamic balance of young male soccer players with FAI.
Department of Physical Therapy, Inje University Busan Paik Hospital, Korea.
Byeong-Gyu
BG
Lee
Department of Physical Therapy, College of Nursing and Healthcare Sciences, Dong-Eui University, Korea.
Jung-Hoon
JH
Lee
D000293:Adolescent; D000843:Ankle Joint; D055052:Athletic Tape; D006801:Humans; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000628:therapy*; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance; D012916:Soccer
Ankle balance taping; dynamic balance; functional ankle instability; star excursion balance test; young soccer player