EFFECTS OF ATHLETIC TAPING ON PERFORMANCE OF BASKETBALL ATHLETES WITH CHRONIC ANKLE INSTABILITY

ABSTRACT Introduction: Ankle sprains are recurrent injuries in basketball, hence more and more athletes are taping their ankles to promote joint stability, aiming at improving dynamic balance and, consequently, functional performance. Objective: To verify the effects of elastic and rigid athletic taping on the functional performance and level of comfort of basketball players with chronic ankle instability. Methods: Twenty-one athletes aged between 18 and 30 years (mean age 23.7 ± 3.2) with chronic ankle instability (CAI), verified using the Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool, were selected to take part in this study. The Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT) and the Figure-of-8 hop test (F8) were applied unilaterally to assess functional performance, considering the ankle of greater instability in three situations: without athletic taping, with rigid athletic taping and with elastic athletic taping. A draw was held to determine the order in which the tests (held over a number of days) would be applied. A questionnaire was conducted to assess comfort on the same day the athletic tapes were applied. Results: There was no significant difference between the tests in any direction of the SEBT, but there was a significant difference in F8 between the rigid athletic taping x control and elastic athletic taping x control situations. In addition, the elastic athletic tape was considered significantly more comfortable than the rigid athletic tape. Conclusion: Athletic taping appears to effectively improve the dynamic balance and functional performance of athletes with CAI only in activities that cause considerable joint stress, as is the case in F8. Elastic athletic tape appears to be just as effective as rigid athletic tape in these situations, in addition to being a significantly more comfortable alternative. Levef of Evidence I; High quality randomized trial with statistically significant difference or no statistically significant difference but narrow confidence intervals.

摘要
引言：踝关节扭伤是篮球运动中的频发损伤类型，因此越来越多运动员通过踝关节贴扎提升关节稳定性，以期改善动态平衡，进而提升运动功能表现。
研究目的：验证弹性与刚性运动贴扎对患有慢性踝关节不稳（chronic ankle instability, CAI）的篮球运动员的运动功能表现与舒适程度的影响。
研究方法：选取21名年龄介于18至30岁（平均年龄23.7±3.2）的慢性踝关节不稳患者，采用坎伯兰踝关节不稳量表（Cumberland Ankle Instability Tool）进行确诊。分别在三种测试情境下，对踝关节不稳程度更严重的一侧进行单侧测试：未使用运动贴扎（对照组）、使用刚性运动贴扎、使用弹性运动贴扎，评估工具采用单腿前伸平衡测试（Star Excursion Balance Test, SEBT）与8字跳跃测试（Figure-of-8 hop test, F8）。通过随机抽签确定测试顺序，测试将分多日完成，并在贴扎当日通过问卷评估受试者的舒适程度。
研究结果：SEBT各方向测试结果无显著统计学差异，但F8测试中，刚性运动贴扎组与对照组、弹性运动贴扎组与对照组之间均存在显著统计学差异。此外，受试者认为弹性运动贴扎的舒适程度显著高于刚性运动贴扎。
研究结论：运动贴扎仅在对关节造成较大应力的活动（如F8测试）中，可有效改善慢性踝关节不稳运动员的动态平衡与运动功能表现。在此类场景下，弹性运动贴扎的效果与刚性运动贴扎相当，且是舒适程度显著更优的选择。
证据等级为I级：高质量随机对照试验，存在统计学显著差异，或虽无统计学显著差异但置信区间较窄。