The effect of kinesio tape on force sense in people with functional ankle instability.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of kinesio tape (KT) on proprioception of the ankle. DESIGN Case-control study. SETTING Controlled laboratory. PARTICIPANTS Twenty-eight subjects participated in this study: 14 subjects were in the control group (no history of ankle injuries) and 14 subjects were in the functional ankle instability (FAI) group (history of ankle injuries and a recent history of giving way). INTERVENTIONS Subjects in the FAI group received lateral ankle sprain KT application, whereas those in the control group received no tape application. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Proprioception was measured using eversion force sense. This task was performed at 30% of the eversion maximum voluntary isometric contraction. Force sense was tested at baseline, immediately after KT application, and 72 hours after KT application. RESULTS Results revealed a significant time by group interaction (P = 0.03). At baseline and immediately after KT, subjects in the FAI group had significantly more force sense errors than those in the control group. However, after wearing the tape for 72 hours, no significant differences were identified between the groups. CONCLUSIONS We found that after wearing KT for an extended amount of time, proprioceptive deficits were improved. After the tape application, the improvements resulted in similar conscious proprioceptive awareness in both the subjects with and without ankle instability.