KinesioTape® Influence on Female Functional Ankle Instability: Preliminary Findings

Aims: The purpose of this study was to verify the influence of Kinesiotape® (KT) and exercise on functional ankle instability score measure by the Y-test in female soccer athletes.
Study Design: Interrupted time series with treatment removal.
Place and Duration of Study: Futebol Clube Benfica. Between January 2014 and March 2014.
Methodology: Six female athletes with a mean age 22.5 (+/- 3.02) years old, mean weight 59.9 (+/- 9.9) kg, height 163.3 (+/- 6.5) cm and with functional ankle instability participated. Ankle instability was measured by the Y-Test at four different times: initial measure, after two weeks without any treatment, three weeks after KT application period and three weeks after the specific exercise plan application.
Results: The sample was reduced to five participants (7 feet) with functional ankle instability. After analysis, 57.1% of the sample benefited from the use of KT in at least two of the three directions measured. On the other hand, 42.9% showed positive changes for the anterior reach direction apparently because of the specific exercise programme for ankle instability. The Wilcoxon test results revealed statistically significant differences in the composite reach distance associated with the use of KT (P = 0.01). Significant differences were reported (P< 0.05) in the anterior reach direction related to the implementation of the exercise plan.
Conclusion: A tendency for a functional improvement of the ankle instability in the study population was observed by the use of KT. Differences between the use of KT and the exercise plan were unclear.