Investigation of Immediate and Delayed Effects of Bilateral Forearm Kinesio-Taping on Maximal Hand Grip Strength in Female Volleyball Players

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the immediate and delayed effects of the kinesio-taping on the hand grip strength. Six-teen female volleyball players currently competing in Turkey Women’s Volleyball 2^nd league (age 18.1±2.3 years, height 172.9±7.3 cm) voluntarily participated in this study. In cross-over research design, all participants participated in a total of 4 different measurements, immediately after kinesio-taping (1), immediately after placebo taping (2), after volleyball training (3), 48h post taping (4). In kinesio-taping, approximately 2-3 cm ends of kinesio-tapes were applied without tension, and the middle region was stretched by approximately 10-15% in “Y-shape”. Hand grip strength measurements were made 4 times on different days that before kinesio-taping, immediately after kinesio-taping, immediately after training and 48 hours after taping with a portable handheld dynamometer. According to the results of the one-way repeated measures ANOVA, the kinesio-taping to forearm didn’t elicit any significant changes in hand grip strength over the conditions (p > 0.05). The results of the current study showed that the kinesio-taping in female volleyball players did not have a significant effect on immediate, right after training and 48 hours after taping, compared to placebo taping measurements in dominant and non-dominant maximal hand grip strength.