Evaluation of the effects of different applications of Kinesio Taping on postural control in healthy women

ABSTRACT It has been demonstrated that Kinesio Tape (KT) application has immediate positive effects on balance in healthy individuals, but its mid-term effects have not yet been investigated. Objective Evaluate the effects of KT on postural control in young women, using four strategies. Methods Forty-eight healthy women aged 18-35 years old were randomly assigned to four groups with different elastic bandages (G1: ankle; G2: hamstrings; G3: lumbar; G4: different taping applications) and their postural control was evaluated using stabilographic parameters obtained on a force platform during right and left unipodal (UNP-R and UNP-L) and semi-tamdem tests at pre-intervention (PRE), immediately after (IME), and 24 and 48 hours after the application of bandages. Results G1 showed a significantly lower velocity in the antero-posterior direction for the PRE compared to the IME period (p = 0.0204) in the UNP-R task, and the same was observed in the medio-lateral velocity when comparing the results for PRE with IME (p = 0.0340 and p=0.0244) in the UNP-L task. Regarding the frequency, G2 had a significantly lower mean for the PRE, compared to IME (p Conclusions The use of KT changed postural control, mainly considering the velocity and frequency of COP oscillations, and especially immediately after its application.