The study of prophylactic athletic ankle taping on vertical ground reaction force during landing

Ankle sprain is the most common injury in sports activities. Because of the high prevalence and its implications, it is important to identify specific injury prevention strategies in athletes. External supports such as taping and bracing are used for the sake of this purpose. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of prophylactic athletic ankle taping on maximum vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) and the time to peak VGRF during landing.
The current quasi-experimental cross over trial and pre-post test study was performed on 35 healthy female recreational athletes. The force plate was used for data collection. Taping was performed according to Gibney closed basket weave method. Before and after taping, participants landed from the platform with the height of 30 cm on the force plate placed 10 cm far from the platform. Participants were instructed to hop with the dominant leg on the center of the force plate.
The results of the paired T-test analysis revealed no significant changes in peak VGRF following prophylactic athletic ankle taping (P=0.371). However, following the taping, the time to peak VGRF reduced significantly (P=0.001). Also, a significant increase was noticed in the loading rate (P=0.001).
The results of the present study indicated that athletic ankle taping of the dominant leg in female athletes significantly decreased the time to peak VGRF and increased loading rate making musculoskeletal structures get affected by VGRF very quickly after landing. It seems that using prophylactic athletic ankle taping constantly and over time may facilitate damage to articular structures.