Effectiveness of ankle taping on ankle joint kinematics during walking on level ground.

UNLABELLED: Prescriptions for functional ankle instability are generally oriented to taping, which need to be validated as an efficient treatment. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of ankle taping on the subject's foot pressure and gait pattern, including mediolateral analysis, according to tape application side. A sample of 20 right-handed healthy subjects volunteered to participate in this study, which was composed of 3 taping conditions: "with taping of the right ankle," "with taping of both ankles," and "with taping of the left ankle." Participants were asked to perform a walk on the walkway to get 2 footprints repeated 6 times. The variables measured were step length, step duration, double stance, and swing. The results clearly showed significant change in step duration and double phase when tape was applied to the left ankle, F(2, 54) = 12.03; P < .05. Significant changes were also observed for step length and swing when tape was applied to the both ankles, F(2, 54) = 10.71; P < .05]. This study showed that double stance and swing phase duration increases, and that the pressure is equalized on both feet when taping the unstable ankle. Taping a functionally unstable ankle is more likely to improve its stability.

LEVELS OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic Level II: Prospective comparative trial.