Effect of non-elastic taping on vertical stiffness of healthy athletes during a basketball jump shot.

Background: Basketball is a high-risk team sport for lower extremity injuries, with ankle sprains being the most common injury. Non-elastic tape is widely used in injury prevention and quick return to play after ankle sprains, but its impact on stiffness, particularly global stiffness, has not been thoroughly investigated.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of non-elastic ankle taping on vertical stiffness, among basketball players during the jump shot tasks; and to assess the reliability of accelerometers to evaluate vertical stiffness.

Design: Single group, repeated measures study.

Participants: Thirty healthy semi-professional basketball players (15 males and 15 females) participated in the study.

Interventions: Vertical stiffness was compared among three conditions: 1) without taping, 2) while the non-elastic tape was applied to their ankles, and 3) after running while taped. Vertical stiffness was calculated from acceleration data using a mass-spring model.

Results: The result of a one-way repeated measures ANOVA showed that vertical stiffness was not significantly different between the three conditions (P = 0.162). Within-day and between-day reliability for average measurements were found to be high or very high.

Conclusion: The findings showed that the vertical stiffness is unaffected by non-elastic taping. Therefore, while non-elastic tape can limit ankle range of motion, it may not have an impact on vertical stiffness, a global parameter which reflects the musculoskeletal performance. On the other hand, the high reliability of the stiffness variable supports the use of an accelerometer as a small portable instrument for outdoor sports measurements.