Physiological, kinematic, and electromyographic responses to ...

Abstract
Kinesiology-type tape (KTT) has become popular in sports for injury prevention, rehabilitation, and performance enhancement. Many cyclists use patella KTT; however, its benefits remain unclear, especially in uninjured elite cyclists. We used an integrated approach to investigate acute physiological, kinematic, and electromyographic responses to patella KTT in twelve national-level male cyclists. Cyclists completed four, 4-minute submaximal efforts on an ergometer at 100 and 200 W with and without patella KTT. Economy, energy cost, oxygen cost, heart rate, efficiency, 3D kinematics, and lower-body electromyography signals were collected over the last minute of each effort. Comfort levels and perceived change in knee stability and performance with KTT were recorded.
The effects of KTT were either unclear, non-significant, or clearly trivial on all collected physiological and kinematic measures. KTT significantly, clearly, and meaningfully enhanced vastus medialis peak, mean, and integrated electromyographic signals, and vastus medialis-to-lateralis activation. Electromyographic measures from biceps femoris and biceps-to-rectus femoris activation ratio decreased in either a significant or clinically meaningful manner. Despite most cyclists perceiving KTT as comfortable, increasing stability, and improving performance, the intervention exerted no considerable effects on all physiological and kinematic measures. KTT did alter neuromuscular recruitment, which has potential implications for injury prevention.
Keywords
3D analysis
Biomechanics
Electromyography
Kinesiology
Performance
Physiology
Cited by (0)
Dr. Kim Hébert‐Losier. She received her PhD from the University of Otago in 2011. She is currently a Senior Lecturer for the Faculty of Health, Sport and Human Performance at the University of Waikato; lead biomechanics researcher at the University of Waikato Adams Centre for High Performance in Tauranga; and registered physiotherapist in New Zealand and Canada. She has acquired extensive overseas experience working as a physiotherapist or applied researcher in Canada, New Zealand, Sweden, USA, and Malaysia. Kim is an expert in 3D motion analysis with clinical, research, and academic interests in human movement, biomechanics, and injury prevention for human health and sport performance.
Ms. Ngieng Siew Yin. She received her BSc degree from Universiti Malaysia Sabah in 2015. She is a Sport Biomechanics Officer at the National Sports Institute of Malaysia where her primary work includes performance analysis for high performance athletes. Her primary research interest is in the field of biomechanical analysis.
Dr. Martyn Beaven. He received his PhD from the Auckland University of Technology in 2011. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow in Physiology in the Faculty of Health, Sport and Human Performance at the University of Waikato. Previously worked as a physiologist at the Swedish National Winter Sports Centre, as lead physiologist at the Nebraska Athletic Performance Laboratory at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, and as the Head of Strength and Conditioning at the Malaysian National Institute of Sport. His primary research interest is in the field of exercise physiology and how it relates to health, well-being, and exercise performance.
Chris Chow Li Tee. He received the BSc degree in Sport and Exercise Science from Campbell University, North Carolina, USA and the MSc Sport and Exercise Physiology from Liverpool John Moores University, UK. He was previously employed as a senior sport physiologist at the National Sports Institute of Malaysia where his primary work includes training monitoring and recovery for high performance athletes. His primary research interest is in the field of applied sport physiology and recovery.
Prof. Jim Richards. He was appointed Professor in Biomechanics and research lead for Allied Health Professions at University of Central Lancashire in 2004. Professor Richards work includes the clinical application of biomechanics, the development of new assessment tools for chronic disease, conservative and surgical management of orthopedic and neurological conditions, and development of evidence based approaches for improving clinical management and rehabilitation. The focus of Professor Richards work is to encourage inter-professional research and to develop direct parallels with research to the ‘real world’ of allied health work.