Effects of tension of Kinesio taping application on maximum quadriceps torque and knee repositioning sense in recreationally males

Sports injuries of the knee joint are very common. There are both contact injuries and non-contact injuries. Contractile injuries may be due to an impairment of the knee joint position sense or a decrease of the quadriceps muscle strength. Using a Kinesio taping method may decrease this impairment. The aim of the current study was to assess the effect of direction and tension of Kinesio taping of the quadriceps muscle on repositioning sense of the knee joint and maximum concentric and eccentric torque of the knee extensors.
Twenty-one recreationally active healthy males, determined by convenient non-probability sampling method, participated in this quazi-experimental study. The tests were performed in biomechanics laboratory of School of Rehabilitation of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran, between July to November 2017. They visited biomechanics laboratory 5 sessions. The first session was for familiarization with the main tests and signing an informed consent form. For 2 through 5 sessions, one of each Kinesio tape tension approaches of 100, 115 and 140 percent (origin to insertion direction) and 100 percent (insertion to origin direction) was randomly applied on the quadriceps muscle. Active and passive repositioning sense of the knee joint at 60-degree flexion and maximum concentric and eccentric torque of the knee extensors of the dominant extremity before and after Kinesio taping were measured using a Biodex System 3 isokinetic dynamometer (Biodex Medical Systems, Shirley, NY, USA). Order of measuring active and passive repositioning sense and maximum concentric and eccentric torque of the knee extensors were randomly selected.
Origin to insertion Kinesio taping method with tension of 100, 115 and 140 percent significantly decreased means of active and passive repositioning sense errors (P 0.05).
According to the results, Kinesio taping could influence on repositioning sense of the knee joint at 60-degree knee flexion. Maximum concentric and eccentric extensor torques was also increased.