Guilherme S. Nunes

Effect of kinesio taping on jumping and balance in athletes: a crossover randomized controlled trial.

Abstract Nunes, GS, de Noronha, M, Cunha, HS, Ruschel, C, and Borges Jr, NG. Effect of Kinesio Taping on jumping and balance in athletes: A crossover randomized controlled trial. J Strength Cond Res 27(11): 3183–3189, 2013—The purpose of this crossover randomized controlled trial was to verify the effect of Kinesio Taping (KT) applied to the triceps surae with the aim to improve muscle performance during vertical jump (VJ), horizontal jump (HJ), and dynamic balance (DB) in healthy college athletes. The participants were 20 athletes (11 men) who competed in 4 different sports modalities (track and field, handball, volleyball, and soccer). Participants had a mean age of 22.3 ± 3.3 years, mean height of 1.74 ± 0.08 m, and mean body mass of 67.8 ± 10.1 kg. The intervention consisted of applying KT from the origin of the triceps surae to its insertion with the purpose of increasing muscle performance, and the placebo consisted of applying tape with nonelastic properties. There were no significant differences between KT and placebo conditions for height (m) in VJ (KT, 0.18 ± 0.06; placebo, 0.17 ± 0.06; p = 0.14), distance (m) in HJ (KT, 1.48 ± 0.3; placebo, 1.47 ± 0.3; p = 0.40), and DB in distance reached (m) in the star excursion balance test, normalized by lower limb length (anterior: KT, 90.0 ± 6.7; placebo, 89.5 ± 7.5; p = 0.56; posterolateral: KT, 92.5 ± 7.5; placebo, 93.2 ± 5.8; p = 0.52; posteromedial: KT, 98.3 ± 6.7; placebo, 98.7 ± 7.4; p = 0.69). The KT technique was not found to be useful in improving performance in some sports-related movements in healthy college athletes; therefore, KT applied to the triceps surae should not be considered by athletes when the sole reason of the application is to increase performance during jumping and balance.

Kinesio Taping does not decrease swelling in acute, lateral ankle sprain of athletes: a randomised trial

QUESTION Does Kinesio Taping reduce swelling in athletes who have suffered an acute, lateral ankle sprain? DESIGN Randomised controlled trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis and blinded assessment. PARTICIPANTS Thirty-six athletes who participated regularly in one of seven different sports modalities and suffered an acute ankle sprain. INTERVENTION The experimental group received Kinesio Taping application for 3 days, which was designed to treat swelling. The control group received an inert Kinesio Taping application. OUTCOME MEASURES For the comparison between groups, the swelling was measured via volumetry, perimetry, relative volumetry and two analyses of the difference in volume and perimetry between ankles of each participant. Data were collected immediately after the 3 days of intervention and at follow-up, which was 15 days post intervention. RESULTS At 3 days after intervention, there were no differences between groups for swelling in volumetry (MD -2 ml, 95% CI -28 to 32); perimetry (MD 0.2 cm, 95% CI -0.6 to 1.0); relative volumetry (MD 0.0 cm, 95% CI -0.1 to 0.1); and the other analyses. At day 15 follow-up, there were no significant between-group differences in outcomes. CONCLUSION The application of Kinesio Taping, with the aim of stimulating the lymphatic system, is ineffective in decreasing acute swelling after an ankle sprain in athletes. TRIAL REGISTRATION Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials, RBR-32sctf.

Kinesio Taping does not improve the symptoms or function of older people with knee osteoarthritis: a randomised trial

QUESTION Does Kinesio Taping reduce pain and swelling, and increase muscle strength, function and knee-related health status in older people with knee osteoarthritis? DESIGN Randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis and blinded assessment. PARTICIPANTS Seventy-six older people with knee osteoarthritis. INTERVENTION The experimental group received three simultaneous Kinesio Taping techniques to treat pain, strength and swelling. The control group received sham taping. All participants kept the taping on for 4 days. OUTCOME MEASURES The outcomes were: concentric muscle strength of knee extensors and flexors, measured by isokinetic dynamometry with an angular velocity of 60 deg/second normalised for body mass [(Nm/kg) x 100 (%)]; pressure pain threshold via digital pressure algometry (kgf/cm(2)); lower-limb swelling via volumetry (l) and perimetry (cm); physical function via the Lysholm Knee Scoring Scale (0 = worst to 100=best); and knee-related health status via the Western Ontario and McMaster (WOMAC) osteoarthritis index (0=best to 96=worst). Outcomes were measured at Day 4 (end of the taping period) and Day 19 (follow-up) after the start of the treatment. RESULTS At Day 4, there were no significant between-group differences for knee extensor muscle strength (MD -1%, 95% CI -7 to 5), knee flexor muscle strength (MD 2%, 95% CI -3 to 7), the pressure pain threshold at any measured point, volumetry (MD 0.05 L, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.11), perimetry at any measured point, Lysholm score (MD -4 points, 95% CI -9 to 2), or WOMAC score (MD -2 points, 95% CI -8 to 4). The lack of significant between-group difference was also seen at the follow-up assessment on Day 19. CONCLUSION The Kinesio Taping techniques investigated in this study provided no beneficial effects for older people with knee osteoarthritis on any of the assessed outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials, RBR-36r3t5. [Wageck B, Nunes GS, Bohlen NB, Santos GM, de Noronha M (2016) Kinesio Taping does not improve the symptoms or function of older people with knee osteoarthritis: a randomised trial.Journal of Physiotherapy62: 153-158].

Massage therapy decreases pain and perceived fatigue after long-distance Ironman triathlon: a randomised trial

QUESTION Can massage therapy reduce pain and perceived fatigue in the quadriceps of athletes after a long-distance triathlon race (Ironman)? DESIGN Randomised, controlled trial with concealed allocation, intention-to-treat analysis and blinded outcome assessors. PARTICIPANTS Seventy-four triathlon athletes who completed an entire Ironman triathlon race and whose main complaint was pain in the anterior portion of the thigh. INTERVENTION The experimental group received massage to the quadriceps, which was aimed at recovery after competition, and the control group rested in sitting. OUTCOME MEASURES The outcomes were pain and perceived fatigue, which were reported using a visual analogue scale, and pressure pain threshold at three points over the quadriceps muscle, which was assessed using digital pressure algometry. RESULTS The experimental group had significantly lower scores than the control group on the visual analogue scale for pain (MD -7 mm, 95% CI -13 to -1) and for perceived fatigue (MD -15 mm, 95% CI -21 to -9). There were no significant between-group differences for the pressure pain threshold at any of the assessment points. CONCLUSION Massage therapy was more effective than no intervention on the post-race recovery from pain and perceived fatigue in long-distance triathlon athletes. TRIAL REGISTRATION Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials, RBR-4n2sxr.

Translation into Portuguese of questionnaires to assess knee injuries.

The aim of this systematic review was to review the quality of the translation and the measurement properties from questionnaires that assess injuries of the knee. We included questionnaires that were developed in foreign language and have been translated and validated into Portuguese. The databases used were CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, LILACS, PUBMED and SCIELO and the final search resulted in a total of 868 studies included, from which 16 were eligible. Most included questionnaires presented all steps expected in a translation process; however there were some deficiencies in measurement properties among the questionnaires. The VISA-P Brazil was the best questionnaire when analyzing translation process and measurement properties tested. It was the only questionnaire that tested all measurement properties investigated and presented adequate values for all of them. KOS-ADLS was the best questionnaire translated to Portuguese from Portugal. Among all, the VISA-P Brazil is the best questionnaire to be used with Brazilian Portuguese speakers when the condition is related to patellar tendinopathy and the LEFS is the best questionnaire for other general conditions of the knee. For Portuguese from Portugal, the best questionnaire is the KOS-ADLS, and like the LEFS it does not target any specific injury.

Inter- and Intra-observer Agreement of the Motion Palpation Test for Lumbar Vertebral Rotational Asymmetry

PURPOSE To investigate inter- and intra-observer agreement in the assessment of lumbar vertebral rotational (VR) asymmetry by a motion palpation test. METHODS For this prospective and descriptive test-retest study, 51 asymptomatic participants (40 women, 11 men; mean age 23.3 [SD 5.6] years) were recruited from the community. Each participant was assessed in two sessions by the same three observers, who assessed VR by means of a palpatory test for movement asymmetry. This test is performed by applying posteroanterior pressure in an alternating manner to the left and right transverse processes of a vertebra to determine motion asymmetry in the transverse plane and thus the vertebral position. Observers classified the vertebral position as neutral, rotation to the right, and rotation to the left; they were blinded to which participant was being assessed and to any previous results. RESULTS Intra- and inter-observer agreement was verified by the kappa coefficient (κ) and the weighted kappa coefficient (κ w ). Values of κ and κ w varied from 0.07 (95% CI, -0.10 to 0.245) to 0.37 (95% CI, 0.11-0.63) for intra-observer agreement and from 0.12 (95% CI, -0.06 to 0.29) to 0.30 (95% CI, 0.08-0.52) for inter-observer agreement. CONCLUSION The motion palpation test used to assess VR asymmetry has low agreement levels; therefore, its clinical significance for measuring vertebral position is questionable.

Subjective criteria associated with return-to-play in sports physical therapy

Introduction The Subjective Daily Assessment Scale (ESAD) is based on the visual analog scale (VAS) and assesses six parameters (pain, edema, heat, mobility, sensitivity, and confidence).Objective This study aimed to examine the association between the analyzed variables as assessed by the ESAD and physical therapy clinical discharge and return-to-play of injured athletes.Method Eighty-one patient records of athletes were analyzed; mean sample age was 23.9 ± 6.3 years. The athletes received treatment through the Sports Physical Therapy program of Santa Catarina State University, Brazil, between 2008 and 2011. Six parameters were ranked on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being the best possible condition and 10 the worst. Data analysis was conducted using stepwise Cox regression.Results At the time of the injury, the mean score for confidence was 5.82 ± 0.48, and at the time of return-to-play, it was 0.48 ± 1.1; the mean score for pain decreased from 3.7 ± 2.64 to 0.34 ± 0.83. However, due to the strong association between pain and confidence, only confidence remained in the final model. For each reduction in the value reported for confidence, the probability of return-to-play was 0.62 times greater.Conclusion The results showed that confidence was the best variable for predicting athlete return-to-play.

Movement adjustments in preparation for single-leg jumps in individuals with functional ankle instability.

There is some evidence showing that people with functional ankle instability (FAI) can present changes in postural control during the landing phase of a jump. These studies also show preliminary results indicating possible changes during phases prior to landing. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate whether movement adjustments prior to a jump are different between people with and without FAI. Sixty participants with (n=30) and without (n=30) FAI participated in this study. The main outcome measures were the variability of range of motion in ankle inversion/eversion and dorsiflexion/plantarflexion; and variability of center of pressure for the directions anterior-posterior and medio-lateral during the pre-jump period for drop jump, vertical jump and during single-leg stance. The group with instability showed more variability of center of pressure in anterior-posterior direction (p=0.04) and variability of range of motion in ankle dorsiflexion/plantar flexion (p=0.04) compared to control in the single-leg stance test. For the within-group comparisons, the group with instability showed more variability of center of pressure in anterior-posterior direction in the drop jump higher than single-leg stance and vertical jump. The same pattern was seen for the control group. Thus, this study suggests that people with FAI have greater ankle range of motion variability and center of pressure variability in the anterior-posterior axis when compared to healthy individuals during single-leg stance. For those same two variables, preparation for a drop jump causes more postural instability when compared to the preparation for a vertical jump and to single-leg stance.

Skin Cooling and Force Replication at the Ankle in Healthy Individuals: A Crossover Randomized Controlled Trial

CONTEXT Proprioception of the ankle is determined by the ability to perceive the sense of position of the ankle structures, as well as the speed and direction of movement. Few researchers have investigated proprioception by force-replication ability and particularly after skin cooling. OBJECTIVE To analyze the ability of the ankle-dorsiflexor muscles to replicate isometric force after a period of skin cooling. DESIGN Randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING Laboratory. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS Twenty healthy individuals (10 men, 10 women; age = 26.8 ± 5.2 years, height = 171 ± 7 cm, mass = 66.8 ± 10.5 kg). INTERVENTION(S) Skin cooling was carried out using 2 ice applications: (1) after maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) performance and before data collection for the first target force, maintained for 20 minutes; and (2) before data collection for the second target force, maintained for 10 minutes. We measured skin temperature before and after ice applications to ensure skin cooling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S) A load cell was placed under an inclined board for data collection, and 10 attempts of force replication were carried out for 2 values of MVIC (20%, 50%) in each condition (ice, no ice). We assessed force sense with absolute and root mean square errors (the difference between the force developed by the dorsiflexors and the target force measured with the raw data and after root mean square analysis, respectively) and variable error (the variance around the mean absolute error score). A repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance was used for statistical analysis. RESULTS The absolute error was greater for the ice than for the no-ice condition (F1,19 = 9.05, P = .007) and for the target force at 50% of MVIC than at 20% of MVIC (F1,19 = 26.01, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS The error was greater in the ice condition and at 50% of MVIC. Skin cooling reduced the proprioceptive ability of the ankle-dorsiflexor muscles to replicate isometric force.