title: Acute effects of kinesio taping on a 6 s maximal cycling sprint performance.
abstract: Based on the hypothesis that tactile stimulation affects muscle activation levels, we theorized that taping vastus medialis and vastus lateralis muscles would improve a 6 s sprint cycling performance. Thus, the aim of this study was to determine whether the use of kinesio taping (KT) was helpful in increasing maximal-intensity cycling exercise. Sixteen active healthy subjects were enrolled in a randomized placebo, repeated measures design. All subjects were tested on a cycle ergometer under three conditions: without taping, taping along anterior thigh muscles and sham taping across the same muscle groups. Results showed a significant increase in peak power output and total work after the application compared to the condition with no tape applied (p < 0.05). No significant difference was found between the two modes of application. Our findings indicated that the tactile stimulation of KT applied longitudinally provided positive effects during a sprint cycling performance in healthy and active subjects.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Athos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trecroci
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Damiano
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Formenti
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health , Università degli Studi di Milano , Milano , Italy.
authors.forename: Giampietro
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Alberti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D055052:Athletic Tape; D001642:Bicycling / Q000502:physiology*; D005080:Exercise Test; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D053580:Muscle Strength / Q000502:physiology; D052097:Quadriceps Muscle / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Muscle power; Wingate test; exercise performance; muscle activity; strength