Effects of Kinesio taping on lower limb biomechanical characteristics during the cutting maneuver in athletes after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Purpose To determine the effects of Kinesio taping (KT) on the biomechanical characteristics of the lower limbs during the 90° cutting maneuver in anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) athletes. Method Eighteen ACLR athletes were recruited and subjected randomly to three taping conditions, KT, placebo taping (PT), and no taping (NT), followed by a 90° cutting test. A nine-camera infrared high-speed motion capture system (Vicon, T40, 200 Hz) was used to record the kinematic parameters of the lower limbs during the cutting maneuver, and a three-dimensional dynamometer (Kistler, 1000 Hz) was used to record the kinetic parameters of the lower limbs. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance was conducted to compare the differences in the lower limb kinematic and kinetic characteristics of ACLR athletes subjected to these interventions. Results During the landing phase, the knee valgus angle reduced significantly with KT than with NT (95% confidence interval = −1.399 to −0.154; P = 0.025), whereas no significant difference was observed between PT and NT (95% confidence interval = −1.251 to 0.217; P = 0.236). No significant differences were observed in the other kinematic variables among the three taping conditions ( P > 0.05). During the landing phase, no significant differences in the kinetic variables were observed among the three taping conditions ( P > 0.05). Conclusions Although KT does not improve the kinetic variables of athletes after ACLR during the 90° cutting maneuver, it reduces the knee valgus angle, which could reduce the risk of secondary ACL injury.