The influence of Kinesio Taping on muscle fatigue in individuals with low back pain: A randomised controlled trial

Current Clinical Concepts: Management of Common Lumbar Spine Posterior Column Disorders in Young, Active Individuals

Although posterior column disorders, such as spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis, are not commonly encountered in the general population, athletic trainers frequently see these conditions in athletic and active individuals due to the repetitive spinal extension and rotational loads placed on the pars interarticularis while participating in sport. Athletic trainers can successfully evaluate patients with posterior column disorders by performing a complete and comprehensive clinical examination to identify the location of pain, test spinal stability, and recognize compensatory movement patterns. Conservative management typically leads to a successful outcome in this population, with rest, bracing, and the use of therapeutic exercise having the best supporting evidence. In this Current Clinical Concepts review, we outlined the etiology and risk factors frequently associated with disorders of the posterior column. Additionally, we synthesized the literature for common evaluation techniques and interventions associated with the posterior column and provided a proposed rehabilitation progression to use in a younger, athletic population.

The effects of facilitatory and inhibitory kinesiotaping of Vastus Medialis on the activation and fatigue of superficial quadriceps muscles

This study aimed to investigate how facilitatory and inhibitory KT of the Vastus Medialis affected the activation and the fatigue indices of VM, Vastus Lateralis (VL) and Rectus Femoris (RF) throughout a dynamic fatigue protocol. Seventeen collegiate athletes (Ten males, seven females, age: 24.76 ± 3.99 years, height: 1.73 ± 0.10 m, mass: 68.11 ± 8.54 kg) voluntarily participated in four dynamic fatigue protocol sessions in which no-tape (control condition), inhibitory, facilitatory and sham KTs were applied to the Vastus Medialis in each session. The protocol included 100 dynamic maximum concentric knee extensions at 90°/s using an isokinetic dynamometry device. The knee extensor muscle activities were recorded using wireless surface electromyography. The average muscle activity (Root mean square) during the first three repetitions and the repetitions number of 51-100, respectively, were used to calculate the before and after exhaustion muscle activity. Furthermore, median frequency slope during all repetitions was reported as the fatigue rate of muscles during different KT conditions and for the control condition (no-tape). The results showed neither muscle activation (significance for the main effect of KT; VM = 0.82, VL = 0.72, RF = 0.19) nor fatigue rate (significance for the main effect of KT; VM = 0.11 VL = 0.71, RF = 0.53) of the superficial knee extensor muscles were affected in all four conditions. These findings suggest that the direction of KT cannot reduce, enhance muscle activity or cause changes in muscle exhaustion. Future studies should investigate the generalizability of current findings to other populations.