Investigation of the Effect of Kinesiotape Applied With Exercise on Muscle Oxygenation With Moxy Muscle Oxygen Monitor

Kinesio taping (KT) is an elastic adhesive tape with physiological effects, often used in rehabilitation and sports medicine. KT, which can stay in the body for 3 to 5 days, exerts a pulling force on the skin thanks to its wave-like structure and elasticity, and increases the gap between the subcutaneous soft tissue and fascia with its lifting effect. In this way, it reduces the superficial pressure and causes an increase in lymph circulation. In addition, with the effect it creates on the muscles, it allows maximum contraction and relaxation of the muscle and creates positive effects on the deep lymphatics. Another effective approach to increase blood circulation is exercise. Exercise, which is known to have many benefits, has been shown to increase both systemic circulation and muscle blood flow. There are findings in the literature that KT can increase the effectiveness of exercise, but it has been stated that this issue is not clear and more studies are needed. In order to evaluate the effects of KT on increasing the effectiveness of exercise and on circulation, the oxygen saturation of the muscle in the application area can be measured. As a matter of fact, "Moxy muscle oxygen monitor" has been used in the literature, which measures regional oxygen saturation (SmO2) and total hemoglobin (THb) in capillaries under the muscle. The Moxy muscle oxygen monitor is a lightweight (42 g) and small (dimensions: 61 × 44 × 21 mm) device that measures regional blood flow and oxygenation by placing it on the skin non-invasively with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Its validity in measuring muscle oxygenation was vigorous or fairly good, and its reliability was found to be moderate to high in low-intensity exercises (SROC: r = 0.842-0.993, ICC: r = 0.773-0.992, p < .01). It is thought that the application of KT, which is known to increase lymphatic and venous circulation, together with exercise will increase the amount of oxygen in the muscles. To the best of our knowledge in the literature, no study has been found in which this effect of KT is presented objectively. For this reason, it is aimed to examine muscle oxygenation with the Moxy muscle oxygen monitor, which provides objective data on KT applied with exercise.