The Effect of Kinesiology Tape on The Badminton Lunge Performance After Calf Fatigue

Abstract

Kinesiology tape (KT) has been widely used in sports for performance improvements and injury prevention Nevertheless its effects are still controversial Whether the underlying muscle architecture will change while applying kinesiology tape on fatigued muscle is unknown Therefore the purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in fascia thickness while applying KT with comparison to sham tape (ST) and no tape (NT) during maximum isometric ankle plantar flexion (MVIC) and badminton lunge performance before and after calf fatigue Fifteen healthy collegiate badminton players were recruited in this study which were excluded history of heart diseases asthma neurological impairment musculoskeletal injuries nor allergic reactions to kinesiology tape adhesive tape and ultrasound gel This study was repeated measures design During MVIC and lunge an ultrasound scan of medial gastrocnemius was used to record the changes of muscle architecture included fascia thickness (FA) pennation angle (PA) and fascicle length (FL) All the tests were conducted in two conditions of muscle fatigue and without fatigue We hypothesized that kinesiology tape can thicken the fascia layer which leaded to a specific correlation among fascia thickness pennation angle and fascicle length This may lead to the benefits of KT after fatigue During maximum plantar flexion isometric contraction (MVIC) the results show there were no significant differences in FA PA and FL among three taping methods either before or after fatigue The correlations between fascia thickness and pennation angle occurring at rest without fatigue was negatively correlated (r(30) = -0 553 p = 0 032) and moderately negatively correlated (r(45) = -0 397 p = 0 030) in both fatigue and no fatigue conditions However there were strong positive correlation between fascia thickness and fascicle length in no fatigue fatigue condition and the combined one at rest (r(30) = 0 653 p = 0 008; r(30) = 0 622 p = 0 013; and r(45) = 0 616 p = 0 000 respectively) The same positive correlation was found in fatigue condition and the combined condition at maximum force position (r(30) = 0 614 p = 0 015; and r(45) = 0 517 p = 0 003 respectively) As for sport movement such as badminton lunge fascia thickness was rated differently χ2(2) = 6 533 p = 0 038 at beginning of eccentric phase; χ2(2) = 10 133 p = 0 006 at the transition between eccentric phase and concentric phase and χ2(2) = 6 533 p = 0 038 at the end of concentric phase Also fascicle length was observed to have a significant change at the transition between eccentric phase and concentric phase after fatigue (χ2(2) = 8 4 p = 0 015) The same as MVIC it was the fatigue condition that there were positive correlations between fascia thickness and fascicle length at all three time point (r(15) = 0 569 p = 0 027; r(15) = 0 603 p = 0 017 and r(15) = 0 543 p = 0 036 respectively) And when combining two conditions only at the beginning of eccentric phase and at the transition point that there were positive correlation happening in between fascia thickness and fascicle length (r(30) = 0 419 p = 0 021 and r(30) = 0 436 p = 0 016 respectively) These are novel findings about the effects of KT on the underlying muscle architecture which provide valuable information for prevention sports injury and rehabilitation

Date of Award	2020
Original language	English
Supervisor	Fong-chin Su (Supervisor)