The Effect of Kinesio Tex Tape on Muscular Strength of the Forearm Extensors on Collegiate Tennis Athletes

Context: Tennis players, as a group, exhibit a 40% to 50% chance of being diagnosed with lateral epicondylitis at some point in their career. Kinesio Tape (KT) is a popular therapeutic application that is used by athletic trainers, physical therapists and physicians to increase stimulation of mechanoreceptors in order to facilitate muscular power/strength and decrease pain, edema, and inflammation. However, there is minimal research to support the therapeutic benefit of KT. Objective: To determine if KT used in healthy collegiate tennis athletes is effective at decreasing fatigue by maintaining strength of the forearm extensors, which are commonly associated with lateral epicondylitis. Design: Repeated-measures, counterbalanced design. Setting: University Tennis Facility. Patients or Other Participants: Fourteen (8 females, 6 males) healthy Division I tennis athletes. Intervention(s): KT using a Y strip and no tape intervention. Main Outcome Measure(s): The MicroFET2 was used to test the strength of the forearm extensors at pretest, mid-test, and post-test of 65 slice backhands and 75 forehands preformed by each athlete. Results: RM ANOVA for the interaction of measurement period by group showed that strength in the control condition was significantly decreased when compared to strength in the KT condition (F=5.79, p=.032). Percent change in strength between groups across measurement periods, using a Bonferonni correction, did not yield statistically significant differences: preto mid-test (p=.094), midto post-test (p=.210), or preto post-test (p=.019). Conclusion: Our research indicates that KT, when applied to healthy collegiate tennis athletes, is associated with less of a decrease in muscular strength than that seen in a “no tape” condition. More research must be done to test if KT has a therapeutic benefit for athletes with chronic lateral epicondylitis.