Comparison of Support Provided by Prophylactic Athletic Tape Following Exposure to Moisture and Exercise

Prophylactic athletic tape is often used to provide additional ankle support and reduce potential injury in both wet and dry environments. The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of prophylactic athletic tape on ankle range of motion following exposure to moisture and exercise. Following exercise, range of motion increased slightly but remained below baseline and postexercise control values for all tape conditions. The novel synthetic tape maintained greater ankle support following the exercise period for wet condition in inversion and eversion. Cotton and novel synthetic adhesive tapes provided improved ankle stability following exercise, whether wet or dry, as compared with the use of no tape.