Effect of Mulligan's and Kinesio knee taping on adolescent ballet dancers knee and hip biomechanics during landing

Abstract

Taping is often used to manage the high rate of knee injuries in ballet dancers; however, little is known about the effect of taping on lower-limb biomechanics during ballet landings in the turnout position. This study investigated the effects of Kinesiotape (KT), Mulligan’s tape (MT) and no tape (NT) on knee and hip kinetics during landing in three turnout positions. The effect of taping on the esthetic execution of ballet jumps was also assessed. Eighteen pain-free 12–15-year-old female ballet dancers performed ballet jumps in three turnout positions, under the three knee taping conditions. A Vicon Motion Analysis system (Vicon Oxford, Oxford, UK) and Advanced Mechanical Technology, Inc. (Watertown, Massachusetts, USA) force plate collected lower-limb mechanics. The results demonstrated that MT significantly reduced peak posterior knee shear forces (P = 0.025) and peak posterior (P = 0.005), medial (P = 0.022) and lateral (P = 0.014) hip shear forces compared with NT when landing in first position. KT had no effect on knee or hip forces. No significant differences existed between taping conditions in all landing positions for the esthetic measures. MT was able to reduce knee and the hip forces without affecting the esthetic performance of ballet jumps, which may have implications for preventing and managing knee injuries in ballet dancers.