Acute and prolonged hip kinematic changes after three different Kinesio Taping® interventions: A randomized placebo-controlled trial

Study aim: This study aimed to compare the acute and prolonged effects of three different Kinesio Taping (KT) techniques (underactive/overactive muscle correction [UMC]/[OMC] and functional correction [FC]) on hip ROM in the sagittal plane and compare them to those of the placebo Kinesio Taping (PKT) application.

Materials and methods: The sample consisted of 56 young healthy participants of both genders who were randomly divided into four equal groups. Measurements were performed using Kinovea software for video analysis during the performance of an active straight leg raise and the modified Thomas test at three timepoints: before the intervention and 60 min and 48 h after the intervention.

Results: Mixed-model ANOVA revealed a statistically significant interaction between group and timepoint (F = 6.210; p < 0.001; η_p² = 0.285 for ipsilateral hip extension ROM; F = 2.064; p = 0.036; η_p² = 0.117 for contralateral hip flexion ROM). The results revealed acute and prolonged ROM changes after the application of three different KT techniques compared to those after the control procedure, but these changes were not significant.

Conclusions: These findings support the use of KT as a modality for enhancing ROM. In muscle techniques, the factor of the anchor placement direction, with the same percentage of Kinesio tape tension, generates different effects. These effects were greater after 48 h than immediately after application. In changing the segmental posture or joint alignment, FC proved to be more intense than the KT muscle techniques, with an immediate effect that persisted even after two days.