Effect of support bandage on ankle joint's compressive and shear forces among elite volleyball players with chronic ankle sprain in landing after jump

Lateral or inversion ankle sprain is the most common injury among athletes. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of ankle non-elastic tape (rigid tape) on shear and compressive forces during landing after a jump in young elite male volleyball players with chronic ankle sprain injury.
Participants of the present semi experimental study were 12 young elite volleyball players (age: 22.04±3.17, mass: 79.74±4.56, and height: 188.75± 5.85 cm), with a history of several external ankle sprains. They were asked to perform the landing after a jump in rigid tape and barefoot condition with dominant injured foot. The data were recorded via synchronization of video camera and force plate systems and then peak and mean compressive and shear mechanical forces of ankle joint were calculated with inverse dynamic theory in MATLAB software. The paired t-test was run to test the hypothesis in SPSS (P No significant difference was observed in compressive forces between the two conditions of landing with rigid white tape and barefoot (P>0.05). However, the intervention of rigid tape led to a 45% significant reduction in peak shear force compared to barefoot condition (P=0.04). In addition, the mean shear force significantly decreased in tape band as compared with barefoot (P=0.01, 33%)
The use of rigid tape could lead to a same joint compressive force compared to barefoot landing. However, with reduction of joint shear force, it could be considered as a safe intervention in landing after a jump for protecting excessive shear stress.