Effects of Kinesio taping of the knee on proprioception, balance, and functional performance in patients with anterior cruciate ligament rupture: A retrospective case series

To investigate whether Kinesio tape (KT) application improves proprioception, balance, and functional performance in patients with anterior cruciate ligament rupture (ACLr). This retrospective analysis included 48 male patients with surgically-untreated ACLr who attended the Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Center, Qingdao Municipal Hospital, China between June 2017 and June 2018. KT was applied to induce a detoning effect on the quadriceps muscle and toning effect on the ischiocrural muscles. Proprioception, balance, and functional performance were assessed before and 1 and 7 days after KT application using the Lysholm scale, anteroposterior shift of the tibia (APST), active angle reproduction test (AART), modified star excursion balance test (mSEBT), and single-hop distance (SHD). KT resulted in significant improvements in Lysholm scale at 1 day (83.00 [6.50] vs. 76.00 [5.25], P < .001) and APST (8.00 [2.00] vs. 10.00 [2.00] mm, P < .001), AART (3.00 [1.00] vs. 4.00 [1.75] degrees, P < .001), SEBT (96.08 [6.62] vs. 83.92 [7.31] %, P < .001) and SHD (120.96 [6.94] vs. 106.46 [9.03] %, P < .001) at 3 hours (median [interquartile range]). However, significant deficits remained when compared with the healthy side. Except for mSEBT posterolateral direction, those effects were maintained at 7 days. KT has benefits in people with ACLr but cannot fully compensate for functional deficits. KT could be used to assist knee strengthening during rehabilitation.