Measuring immediate effects of patellar taping on balance kinematics

Individuals with patellofemoral pain syndrome present biomechanical alterations of lower limb kinematics and difficulties in postural control. Taping techniques like McConnell’s were adopted to reduce pain and avert lower extremity injury, especially on the knee joint complex. Although the patellar taping appears to be an effective tool in reducing patellofemoral pain by stabilizing the patellofemoral joint, its immediate effects on balance and trunk and lower limb kinematics are still not clear. The assessment of the immediate taping-induced biomechanical modifications on balance and kinematics could provide a deeper insight into the mechanical actions of the McConnell’s. Nine healthy young adults (age: 29.1 ± 4.7 years) were equipped with eight wireless inertial measurement units placed on trunk and lower limbs. Participants were asked to perform the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and the Single Leg Squat (SLS) task in five different directions on a force plate. Kinematics of lumbo-sacral and lower limb joints, as well as balance indices such as spatiotemporal parameters of the center of pressure, were estimated with and without the McConnell taping. No mechanical effects were observed for spatiotemporal indices of the center of pressure and for all considered kinematic parameters, except for kinematics of the knee. Results demonstrated significant differences due to taping condition (p=0.01) for the knee joint in the SLS task. A similar trend was observed in SEBT. This interesting result highlights the instantaneous effect of McConnell taping on knee joint complex, without impairing any self-selected strategies adopted by healthy subjects.