Effect of non-elastic closed-basket weave ankle taping on muscle activity of tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, medial, and lateral gastrocnemius during jump landing on a hard, flat surface in healthy individuals: a pilot study

Background: Inversion ankle sprains are among the most common traumatic injuries for both men and women caused by jumping and landing activities. The ankle is protected by the static and dynamic stabilizers to reduce the incidences of injuries. Furthermore, using a non-elastic closed-basket weave taping technique is one of the common interventions to prevent it. Knowledge about the muscle activity reaction of the dynamic stabilizers upon application of tape is limited with varying results. Objectives: To determine the effect of non-elastic closed-basket weave ankle taping on the muscle activity of tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, medial, and lateral gastrocnemius on healthy individuals during jump landing on a hard, flat surface. Methods: This study is a quasi-experimental study using a pre- and post-test design. Peak amplitude muscle activity was assessed and analyzed using surface electromyography (sEMG) after landing from a jump. The pre-test was done by jump landing without tape, after which post-test data was immediately collected after applying the non-elastic closed-basket weave taping. Jump landing was done for three trials for both pre- and post-tests. A paired t-test was used to determine significant differences in pre-post taping . Results: Fifteen healthy participants were included in the study (9 females, 6 males) with a mean age of 21 + 1.03 years old and BMI of 22.74 + 1.63 kg/m 2 . No significant difference was observed on peak amplitude muscle activity of the tibialis anterior (p= 0.06), medial gastrocnemius (p= 0.32), and lateral gastrocnemius (p= 0.66) after application of tape. However, a significant difference was observed in the peroneus longus after the application of tape (p= 0.05) during jump landing. Conclusion: Non-elastic closed-basket weave taping decreased the peak amplitude muscle activity of the peroneus longus during jump landing. This research suggests that tape may influence the peroneus longus, and it may or may not be detrimental in reducing the risk of ankle sprains.