Is Kinesio Taping Application Effective on Decreasing Injury Risk for Tennis Players
Condition: Injury
MeSH terms: Wounds and Injuries
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Research design: The study protocol was approved and required permissions were taken from
      related tennis club officials, and a written consent was obtained from all the participants'
      parents about the study. Thirty-three young tennis players aged between 9 and 12 were
      included in our study. Assessment were done bare (no tape), after 45 min of performance plus
      kinesio taping application (PP application) and after 45 min of gold text FP kinesio taping
      application (GT application). We were randomly taped with either PP or GT taping applications
      using an online random allocation software program (GraphPad Software QuickCalcs, GraphPad
      Software Inc., La Jolla, CA, USA). Thirty min of rest was given between 2 taping applications
      after the removal of the first tape. One participant was not able to complete the second
      taping procedure. PP and GT taping applications were done by using kinesio taping muscle
      facilitation techniques to Quadriceps and Gastrosoleus muscles. I-shaped tape with a tension
      of 10-35% was used for muscle facilitation. All patients were assessed by an experienced
      physiotherapist, and the tapings were done by another experienced physiotherapist in order to
      provide a single blind structure of the study.
    

Detailed description: 
      Participants: Thirty-three young tennis players aged between 9 and 12 yrs were recruited in
      the study. The exclusion criteria included those (a) with soft tissue or bone problems
      affecting lower extremity, (b) who had acute inflammation affecting lower extremity region,
      (c) had scoliosis, (d) who had undergone any orthopedic surgery, (e) who had defined any pain
      or painful area at lower extremities and (f) who were obese (BMI>30 kg/m2).

      Assessments: Thermal analysis was done for risk of injury including both lower extremities.
      Quadriceps muscle was chosen from upper leg and gastro soleus muscle was chosen from lower
      leg region for thermal analysis. The thermo graphic assessment was performed by using FLIR E5
      (FLIR Systems AB, Sweden) thermal camera in order to evaluate which muscles had the highest
      thermal activity while maintaining stable upright posture. The part of muscle with more
      activation (greater heat) was measured by the thermo graphic camera and the heat was recorded
      in centigrade. Each participant was thermo graphically evaluated in the same room (ambient
      temperature, 21°C) and participants were left for 10-20 minutes to 'acclimatize' to the
      thermographic imaging environment FLIR E5 Thermal Camera, with a resolution of 120 x 90
      pixels was used for thermal imaging and the Color Palette iron was chosen for displaying the
      images. It is indicated that IR imaging may be a reliable and valid measure of treatment
      outcomes with clinical utility and sensitivity

      The power analysis indicated that 33 participants for total were needed with 80 % power and a
      5 % type 1 error. The power analysis of our study showed a power of 80% with tissue
      temperature as the primary outcome. The data were analyzed using statistical software (SPSS
      version 18, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). All the statistical analyses were set a priori at an
      alpha level of p<0.05. The tests for homogeneity (Levene's test) and normality (Shapiro-Wilk)
      were used to determine the appropriate statistical methods. According to the test results,
      nonparametric Friedman test was used for comparisons between baseline, first taping and last
      taping. Wilcoxon test was used for possible differences which may occur between taping
      applications in order to identify the application that provided the difference. Parametric
      test assumptions were not possible due to small sample size and inhomogeneous parameters.
    

Intervention name(s): Kinesio Taping (Performance Plus); Kinesio taping (Gold Tex)
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): PP and GT taping applications were done by using kinesio taping muscle facilitation techniques to Quadriceps and Gastrosoleus muscles. I tape with a tension of 10-35% was used for muscle facilitation. All patients were assessed by an experienced physiotherapist, and the tapings were done by another experienced physiotherapist in order to provide a single blind structure of the study.; PP and GT taping applications were done by using kinesio taping muscle facilitation techniques to Quadriceps and Gastrosoleus muscles. I tape with a tension of 10-35% was used for muscle facilitation. All patients were assessed by an experienced physiotherapist, and the tapings were done by another experienced physiotherapist in order to provide a single blind structure of the study.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Intervention model description: The part of muscle with more activation (greater heat) was measured by the thermo graphic camera and the heat was recorded in centigrade. Each participant was thermo graphically evaluated in the same room (ambient temperature, 21°C) and participants were left for 10-20 minutes to 'acclimatize' to the thermographic imaging environment FLIR E5 Thermal Camera, with a resolution of 120 x 90 pixels was used for thermal imaging and the Color Palette iron was chosen for displaying the images. It is indicated that IR imaging may be a reliable and valid measure of treatment outcomes with clinical utility and sensitivity
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: tennis; vertical jump; kinesio taping; thermography