Kinesio-Taping and Ankle Instability in Recreational Runners
Condition: Ankle Instability
MeSH terms: Joint Instability
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      this clinical trial intended to investigate the effect of applying kinesiotaping to an ankle
      with mild instability in the recreational runners.

      the authors hypothesize that kinesiotaping might improve postural stability in those patients
      and facilitate returning to activity
    

Detailed description: 
      Running as a recreational sport has been considered a very popular sport that has been
      practiced by people of both genders and in different age groups. This sport does not need a
      special place or equipment for practice, this advantage further increased its popularity, as
      well as, it has a great effect on physical and mental health and decreases the mortality rate
      by 25-40%. Running is contributing to lowering body fats, reduction of weight, increase of
      lean body mass, improving resting heart rate, enhancing cardiovascular fitness, and helping
      in the cessation of smoking.

      The incidence of people who practice running as an activity is high in European civilization
      as it reaches up to 12.5-31% of the population. Recreational runners might be at high risk
      for running-related injuries as reported 6.3 injuries per 1000 training hours in comparison
      to 3.4 injuries in the other types of sports activities.

      It is worth mentioning that, the prevalence of studies for running-related injuries increases
      with time. Studies have identified the incidence of injuries extends from 25%-85% in running
      activities. The ankle joint occupies the second place, after the knee joint, as the most
      vulnerable joint to injury during running. These numbers indicate the importance of injury
      prevention and emphasize the methods that help in the reduction of recurrence as it was
      recorded the average time for recovery is 72 days which means a long period of caseation of
      all activities and a burden on the economy.

      While most of the running-related injuries are either gradually onset or due to overuse,
      sudden ankle injuries might also occur. One of the most common ankle injuries is the lateral
      sprains of the sub-talar joint. This injury may lead to trauma to the soft tissues and bony
      components and consequently affect the function of the injured joint.

      Ankle sprain causes a decrease in postural stability and neuromuscular control due to
      improper somatosensory functioning which is linked to this injury on both sides of the lower
      limbs either on the affected or non-affected one. postural stability is one of the major
      functions that depend mainly on the cues originating from proprioceptors. Cutaneous
      stimulation, especially skin stretching, has been considered as an influential factor in
      joint proprioception. More accurate joint position sense was reported when the skin was
      stimulated.

      Consequently, any therapeutic intervention which can stimulate skin receptors might have
      positive effects on the related joint proprioception and may enhance the sensorimotor
      functioning so it might help lower the risk for ankle injuries.

      Kinesio tape (KT) is the application of an adhesive and elastic cotton tape on the skin. This
      tape is anti-allergic and can be left in place for 3 to 5 days without adverse effects. This
      therapeutic method has gained increasing interest in the field of rehabilitation and sport.
      It provides a stretching effect on the skin and may stimulate the cutaneous aspect of the
      proprioception which in turn may affect the somatosensory function.

      A study was conducted with KT on medial tibial stress syndrome which showed a reduction of
      the loading stress in these patients. This syndrome is usually resulted from repeated
      microtrauma to the tissues and usually reported in physically active persons as recreation
      runners. Various studies reported significant improvement in postural control, dynamic,
      static balance, and improving strength after applying the taping on the participants with
      ankle instability. Even though, a recently published systematic review reported there is
      limited scientific evidence regarding the use of KT in the rehabilitation of musculoskeletal
      injuries.

      Exercise is still the best intervention for the treatment of patients with ankle instability
      as it is designed to stimulate proprioception and decrease the risk of ankle injuries.
      However, specially designed programs and their preventive effect are still inconclusive and
      need further research. In addition, there is still controversy in using the KT in the
      rehabilitation of ankle instability as there was a study that reported no significant
      improvements in the balance measurements.

      Most of the studies are conducted on healthy subjects or athletes but no one takes care of
      non-athletes who are practicing regular activities as recreational runners, as well as, one
      of the main components of the prevention of injuries and their recurrence is the building up
      of awareness especially the increase of the popularity of the taping through different media
      and the increase of using it during competitive matches. So the purpose of this study is to
      compare the KT versus special proprioceptive training on the postural stability in
      recreational runners.
    

Intervention name(s): Kinesio-taping; exercises; mixed kinesiotape plus exercises
Intervention type(s): Other; Other; Other
Intervention description(s): kinesiotape is a method of taping used to improve support and increase proprioceptive awareness of the joint, while the exercise program was designed to improve postural stability and balance; A standard proprioceptive training program will be implemented three times a week. The training includes both static and dynamic balance on Wobble board with the eyes open while the last stage will be repeated with the eyes closed.; kinesiotape is a method of taping used to improve support and increase proprioceptive awareness of the joint, while the exercise program was designed to improve postural stability and balance. A standard proprioceptive training program will be implemented three times a week. The training includes both static and dynamic balance on Wobble board with the eyes open while the last stage will be repeated with the eyes closed.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Intervention model description: randomized controlled trials contain 2 groups
Masking: Triple (Participant, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Primary purpose: Treatment
Keywords: ankle instability; recreational runners; postural stability; Kinesio-Taping