THE EFFECT OF MEDIAL LONGITUDINAL ARCH SUPPORTING DYNAMIC® TAPE APPLICATION ON PLANTAR PRESSURE DISTRIBUTION IN ADOLESCENT VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS

Low medial longitudinal arch (MLA), which is accepted as one of the predisposing factors leading to overuse injuries, changes the plantar pressure distribution by disrupting the load distribution. While there are studies investigating the effects of Kinesio® and rigid taping methods on plantar pressure distribution in the literature, there are no studies found investigating the effect of Dynamic® taping (DT) on foot load distribution. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of arch-supportive DT on plantar pressure distribution in adolescent volleyball players with low MLA. Twenty-five female volleyball players with a navicular drop of 8 mm and above and a mean age of 15.44 ± 1.68 years participated in this study. The distance of navicular drop was evaluated by navicular drop test, and the plantar pressure distribution was evaluated by the pedobarographic analysis method. After the first measurements were taken, Dynamic® tape was applied. The athletes were then reassessed using the same procedure. After taping, the navicular drop was significantly reduced for both feet (p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the peak pressure values before and after taping (p>0.05). Total forefoot and hindfoot surface contact areas decreased significantly (p <0.05). Our study results showed that DT did not affect the peak plantar pressure, but could be effective in decreasing the surface contact area and increasing the MLA height. Dynamic® tape can be used as a practical, easy-to-apply treatment agent that supports the arch in asymptomatic athletes.