Effects of truncal taping on center of gravity sway: comparison of different trunk muscle masses.
Yuto Ogasawara, Akihiro Yakabi, Akira Kubo
PMID 35400841WHAT IT FOUND
Taping the trunk did not reduce sway distance in healthy men with either low or high trunk muscle mass.
In the low muscle mass group only, elastic tape produced a smaller sway area than non-elastic tape.
Key findings
01Sway distance did not differ across control, kinesio tape, and white tape conditions in the 14 men with low corrected trunk skeletal muscle mass.
02In the 14 men with low corrected trunk skeletal muscle mass, the median sway area was 53.3 mm² with kinesio tape and 74 mm² with white tape, and the tape types differed significantly.
03In the 19 men with high corrected trunk skeletal muscle mass, sway distance did not differ across conditions (p=0.501), and sway area did not differ (p=0.486).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The authors state the number of participants was small, and the study included only 33 healthy men, so it does not show effects in women, people of other ages, or people with back pain. The low and high corrected trunk skeletal muscle mass groups had 14 and 19 participants, and the significant area finding was only in the low group. The authors did not use electromyography or other methods to confirm that the tape affected trunk muscles. The authors state there is no unified view on interpreting a decrease in path length or area alone. Participants were excluded if they had skin disease or back pain, so the results may not apply to people with those conditions.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest associated with this manuscript.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the smaller sway area with kinesio tape as proof that trunk taping improves balance. Sway distance did not differ in either trunk muscle mass group, and the area difference appeared only in 14 healthy men with low trunk muscle mass.