the impact of therapeutic ankle taping on the lower extremity kinematics of running on level, inclined and declined slopes
abstract
overpronation is cited as a common misalignment of the calcaneus resulting from
flattening of the medial longitudinal arch, which may contribute to the development of an
overuse injury. it has been suggested that taping may control the position and alignment of the
calcaneus to correct foot pathologies associated with overpronation. the purpose of this study
was to explore the effect of ankle taping with kinesio tape® and leuko tape p® on the
kinematics of the lower extremity while running on level, inclined, and declined slopes.
healthy male and female participants (n = 40) between the ages of 18 and 30 years were
recruited. each participant ran with a modified mulligan calcaneal leuko tape p® technique,
foot pronation kinesio tape® technique, and no tape. lower extremity kinematics at the ankle,
knee, and hip at initial contact, during midstance, and at toe off, as well as, spatio-temporal
parameters of contact time (ct), stride frequency (sf), and stride length (sl) were analyzed
using contemplas templo® 3d motion capture system to determine how each type of tape
altered the running stride under each condition.