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Effect of Kinesiotaping on Ankle Stability

Not Applicable
Completed
Conditions
Sprain and Strain of Ankle
Interventions
Device: Sham kinesiotape
Device: Leukotape K
Registration Number
NCT02115217
Lead Sponsor
Clinique Romande de Readaptation
Brief Summary

Ankles sprains are the most popular injuries in basketball players. They are traumatic injuries, which happen most of the time in specific situations, like landing on another player's foot, or during changes of direction.

Neuromuscular exercises are very important to improve ankle stability and reduce risks of sprains. However various external support such as ankles braces and rigid tape, are also used in order to prevent injury.

The kinesiotape (KT) is a new but broadly used method in the world of athletes. Created by KenzoKase, in 1980, this kind of tape has a tremendous success with athletes and is today commonly used during practices and/or competitions. The main property of this tape is its elasticity, which is supposed to improve proprioception and, thus ankle stability, but these aspects have not been investigated yet.

Detailed Description

Aim: Compare the effects of a kinesiotape (KT) with a sham treatment (KT put with no effects) and a control condition (absence of tape) in basketball players from the Swiss national league through balance tests on an unstable surface.

Hypotheses: A KT positioned on the lateral side of the leg improves ankle stability in basketball players while balancing on an unstable surface.

Method: 30 subjects will be recruited from different basketball teams affiliated to the Swiss national league. They will have to perform some postural stability tests on both unstable ("Delos") and stable surfaces ("Single Les Stance", "Star Excursion Balance Test", "Cross Over Hop Test for Distance") under three different conditions. The three condition will be as followed : with a KT positioned on the lateral side of the leg, with a sham tape or without tape. The three sessions will be spaced in time (7 days of wash out). The order of the three interventions (KT, Sham tape, no tape) will be randomized (cross over) to avoid the bias of learning processes. Neither the subjects nor the examiner will be aware of the "tape condition" (double blind); a physiotherapist will be in charge of positioning the tape according to the tested condition.

The sequence of the tests will be the same for all subjects and breaks are scheduled to avoid the effect of the fatigue. An anamnesis of all subjects will be done in order to evaluate history of injuries. At the end of each session, a visual analogical scale will be completed by the athlete to obtain a personal feeling of stability . The subject will be also asked to determine which condition was tested.

Expected results: the application of a KT on the lateral side of the leg improves postural stability on instable surfaces in elite basketball players.

Field's importance: the application of KT may reduce the risk of ankle sprains and the recurrence of sprains in a population of athletes at risk.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
20
Inclusion Criteria
  • active elite basketball players
Exclusion Criteria
  • no history of ankle sprain in the last 6 weeks
  • no history of any other lower limbs lesion in the last 6 weeks

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
CROSSOVER
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
Sham, basketball trainingSham kinesiotapeUse of sham tape
Leukotape K, basketball trainingLeukotape KUse of Leukotape K to ensure stability of the ankle in basketball players
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Effect of kinesiotaping on postural stabilityFor each subject outcome will be assessed in the 3 weeks following the beginning of the study.

To assess postural stability, the following parameters will be measured:

Autonomy:

This measure represents the time the subject can stay on the mobile board without the use of his hand to maintain equilibrium.

Mean axis spacing:

This measure will be performed using an accelerometer localized on the sternum of the subjects. This device will allow us to calculate displacement of the chest (degrees of inclination).

Mean error of the board:

This parameter represents numerically the inclination of the board during the test. It allows to estimate the stability of the subjects' ankle (unit=degrees). The larger this value is the lower the stability will be.

An estimation of total equilibrium between each subject will be assessed using the two parameters listed here above (mean axis spacing + mean error of the board) following recommendation of the manufacturer.

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
EVA scale to evaluate the sensation of postural stabilityAssessment will be performed within 3 weeks after the beginning of the study

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Clinique Romande de Réadaptation

🇨🇭

Sion, Valais, Switzerland

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