The Effects of Functional Ankle Taping on Postural Stability in Elite Judo Players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of ankle taping intervention on postural stability in elite Judo players. A total of twenty-two elite Judo players participated in this study. For biomechanical evaluation of postural stability, all participants performed postural standing tasks including narrow, normal, and wide stance conditions with both taping and non-taping conditions, respectively. Ground reaction forces and the center of pressure (COP) were obtained from the force plate. COP data for 30-s duration were analyzed to assess postural stability by measuring 95% confidence ellipse sway area (COPSWAY), COP velocity (COPVEL), and approximate entropy (ApEn). Significant differences were found in COPSWAY (p = 0.025) and COPVEL (p = 0.041) in the narrow stance, but no differences in normal and wide stances were observed between taping and non-taping conditions. For ApEn in the anteroposterior (AP) direction, significant differences were identified in normal (p = 0.026) and wide (p = 0.014) stances, but in the mediolateral direction there were no significant differences in all stances between taping and non-taping conditions. This study suggests that ankle taping that is purported to increase ankle stability may ironically negatively affect posture maintenance in Judo players. Our study suggests that the purpose of ankle taping should be reconsidered and associated individual objective data should be first analyzed before tape application.