Kinesio tape I-strip anchored from the calcaneal fat pad distally to the proximal end of the musculotendinous junction 

Context in source publication

Context 1

... with a one footed take off using the dominant leg only, and a two footed take off using both legs. The second jumping method tested was the static vertical jump. This jump was similar to the countermovement vertical jump, however, instead of performing the movement in one fluid motion, the individual flexed his/her knees and hyperextended their arms, and then held this position for one second prior to jumping as high as they could with maximum force. The amount of knee flexion for the jumps was controlled by having each individual crouch to a pre-determined height for consistency. After the warm up and practice trials were completed, the individual was connected to the Delsys Trigno Wireless EMG System via wireless EMG sensors. Prior to the application of the wireless sensors, the skin of each sensor site was prepped and cleaned to reduce electrical impedance. The sensors were then applied to three different sites: the lateral gastrocnemius, medial gastrocnemius, and soleus muscles. For landmarking of the lateral gastrocnemius sensor site, the individual lay in prone with the dominant knee extended and foot projecting over the end of the table. The sensor was positioned on the lateral head of gastrocnemius, one third of the distance between the head of the fibula and calcaneus, below the head of the fibula with the sensor pointing in the direction of the muscle fibers as per the Surface ElectroMyoGraphy for the Non-Invasive Assessment of Muscles (SENIAM) guidelines (figure 1) [35]. For the medial gastrocnemius muscle, the sensor was applied to the most prominent bulge of the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle on the dominant leg parallel to the muscle fibers (figure 2) [35]. For the soleus muscle, the participant sat on the examination table with his/her knee flexed to 90° with the heel of the foot on the table. The electrode was positioned two thirds of the distance between the medial condyle of the femur to the medial malleolus of the tibia, below the medial condyle. The sensor was positioned parallel to the muscle fibers of the soleus muscle (figure 3) [35]. Each sensor was applied to the dominant leg of the participant and wrapped in pre-wrap to firmly adhere the electrodes to the skin. When the application of the EMG electrodes was complete, the participant performed a practice vertical jump in order to ensure that each of the three sensors were firmly attached, optimally functioning, and not affecting his/her performance. The standing reach height of the participant was first measured. This was completed by having the individual stand erect with his/her feet together on the ground and arms fully extended overhead. The maximum height at the finger tips was recorded. Once the standing reach height was taken, the participant performed a one footed take off maximal static vertical jump using only the dominant foot on the Vertec device. This device has been reported to be reliable in the measurement of vertical jump height [32]. The individual squatted down and touched a chair that was set at a standardized pre-determined height for all participants with his/her posterior thigh and/or buttock. The participant then jumped as high as possible, making contact with the Vertec device. This insured that a standard descent height was used by all participants. Once the jump was completed, the maximal vertical jump height was measured and recorded. The EMG activity was also recorded simultaneously. A 20 second rest period was provided between jump trials. The same procedure was then completed two more times until a total of three jump trials were completed. Upon completion of three trials using only the dominant leg, the same procedure was used to perform a two footed static jump. Next, this same procedure was performed for both the one footed and two footed countermovement vertical jumps and the results recorded. When each of the four jumping techniques (one footed countermovement jump, two footed countermovement jump, one footed static jump, two footed static jump) were completed, kinesio tape was applied to the participant’s dominant leg. The kinesio tape was applied by the same member of the research team who is certified by Kinesio Taping Association International. The participant was positioned in prone with the dominant foot fully dorsiflexed and the calf muscles placed on stretch [22]. First, an Achilles tendon corrective technique was applied. An I-strip was measured from the calcaneal fat pad to the musculotendinous junction of the Achilles tendon and triceps surae muscle. The tape was then cut at this length and each of the four corners rounded. With the tendon stretched, the distal end of the I-strip was anchored at the calcaneal fat pad with no tension placed on the tape. Once the tape was anchored, a 50% stretch was applied as the tape was laid over the length of the tendon from distal to proximal. The tape was anchored at the proximal end at the musculotendinous junction without tension (figure 4) [22]. The tape was then rubbed for 10 seconds in order to activate the adhesive. Next, a gastrocnemius muscle facilitation technique was applied. Using two I-strips, the distance from the calcaneal fat pad to the medial and lateral tibial condyles were separately measured. The tape was cut to each of these lengths and the corners rounded as previously described. One of these I-strips was anchored at the medial condyle of the tibia without applying tension. The tape was then laid on the medial aspect of the gastrocnemius muscle with 25% tension. This strip ended at the calcaneal fat pad on the sole of the foot, where it was anchored with no tension (figure 5) [22]. The tape was again rubbed for 10 seconds to activate the adhesive. The same procedure was followed with the other I-strip, however, this strip was proximally anchored on the lateral condyle of the tibia, laid on the lateral aspect of the gastrocnemius muscle, and distally anchored at the calcaneal fat pad [22]. These taping techniques were only applied to the dominant leg of the participant. After applying the kinesio tape, the participant again performed the four vertical jumps as described previously. The maximum jump height and mean EMG activity from each trial were recorded. To obtain the mean EMG value, the raw EMG signal was rectified and a Butterworth low pass filter was applied to create a linear envelop mean EMG value via the EMG Works Delsys software. Once each trial was completed, the tape was removed and the participant was then asked to leave the testing area. Descriptive statistics were used to compare means and standard deviations of the mean EMG values and vertical jump heights. Two independent variables (tape intervention and type of jump) and two dependent variables (mean EMG activity measured in μ V and maximum vertical jump height measured in centimeters) were examined. The data were analyzed using paired samples t-tests to examine the effect of the taping intervention on the dependent variables for each type of vertical jump. The rejection criteria was set with an alpha level <.05. The mean one legged static jump height without tape was 26.29 cm ± 9.12, while with tape it was 28.72 cm ± 7.37. The difference between the pre- and post-taping intervention was 2.43 cm. This demonstrated a significant increase in mean vertical jump height ( t (19)=-4.091, p=0.01) for the one legged static jump. There were no significant differences in vertical jump height for the two legged static vertical jump, one legged countermovement jump, and two legged countermovement jump. Although the only significant increase in vertical jump height occurred during the one legged static jump, there was an overall increase in each of the four vertical jump types with the application of tape as seen in figure 6. Table 2 displays the mean EMG values for the medial and lateral gastrocnemius and soleus muscles during each jump type with and without tape. There were no significant differences in the EMG muscle activity and no adverse events or reactions with the application of the tape. This study examined the effects of kinesio tape compared to no tape on vertical jump height and triceps surae EMG muscle activity in healthy varsity athletes. The results showed that vertical jump height significantly increased during the one legged static vertical jump with the application of kinesio tape compared to no tape. There was no significant difference in the vertical jump height with tape for the two legged static, one legged countermovement, or two legged countermovement jumps. There was also no significant effect on EMG muscle activity of the medial gastrocnemius, lateral gastrocnemius, or soleus muscles for any of the four jump types. Opinions about the reported effects of kinesio taping on physical performance measures such as vertical jumping ability and EMG muscle activity are inconsistent in the limited literature available. Previous research examining the effect of kinesio tape on muscle activity found that the tape had no effect on muscle activity in young athletes [14] or decreased muscle activity [16]. However, it has also been identified that kinesio tape increased EMG activity [6, 15, 17, 36]. As the reported results vary across a wide spectrum, trying to compare each of these different studies is extremely difficult due to methodological inconsistencies, different types of tape used, and different methods of application. Many studies have used poor methodological designs or lack pertinent information to clarify exactly what type of tape or technique was used. Each of these variables may greatly impact on the reported findings. With regards to the longer term follow up, the participants in the present study performed the jumping trials immediately after the kinesio tape was applied. It has been reported that the motor units of the muscle may be maximally increased 24 hours after the application of kinesio tape [36]. As a result, this may ...