Dr.Med., Associate Professor E.Yu. Dyakova¹
A.I. Radyuk^2
1National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk
²"Sport Forum", Moscow

Keywords: kinesio taping, blood circulation control, rheovasography, powerlifting, track and field.

Background. Kinesio taping is ranked among the most popular and promising new physiotherapeutic tools for sports. Its developers claim that the tape optimizes lymph/ blood circulation, facilitates lymphatic drainage in the dermis and hypodermis and improves the permeability of skin lymphatic vessels with the surface lymph flows effectively improved by the pressure gradients [1, 6]. In view of the cardiovascular system adaptability important for progress in sports [2, 4, 5] many people in the sports communities do believe that the modern kinesio taping may be highly beneficial for the blood circulation control in many aspects.

Objective of the study was to test and analyze kinesio taping effects on the lower limb blood flows in powerlifting and track and field sports.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the study the 17-28 year old athletes (n=12) including powerlifters (n=5) and sprinters and middle-distance track runners (n=7) qualified Class II to Masters of Sports, with all the sample reporting the lead right leg. The tests were run in a pre-season every day at 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. a day before training. Every subject gave a pre-experimental written informed consent for the study and information about athletic experience, training system, health, etc. People with the recent injuries, poor health, taking medicines and reporting bad habits (mostly smoking) were screened out of the sample.

Upper and lower thirds of the shins and ankles of both legs were tested by means of rheovasography using Valenta 1.4 software. Kinesio taping was used in the microcirculatory/ lymphatic correction (the so called Tunneling) version with application of the fan-shaped BBTape [3] so that the tension-free anchor was fixed on ​​the lymph nodes and the tape tension was ranged from 0 to 20%. The tapes were fixed on proximal to distal muscles, with the tension-free tails, and with prior activation of the adhesive layer.

The sample was tested by the standard PWC₁₇₀ tests including two 5min stepped-intensity tests with a 3min rest break; with the heart rate tested on a post-training basis. On the whole the tests were designed as follows: (1) Informed consent, personal data collection, 5min rest break, and a resting heart rate test; (2) resting rheovasographic test, PWC test, post-test rheovasography; and (3) kinesio taping, resting rheovasography, PWC test, and a post-test rheovasography. The test data were statistically processed using the standard STATISTICA 10.0 software toolkit. Related and unrelated data arrays were matched using the Wilcoxon test and Mann-Whitney test, respectively.

Results and discussion. Statistically significant differences were found in only a few rheovasography rates. The powerlifting group tests found the following specific variations with taping: Upper right shin was tested with the post-training growth of the elasticity modulus (16.8 ± 3.49 to 21.8 ± 4.65%, p <0.05) and diastolic index (0.45 ± 0.09 to 0.9 ± 0.2 points, p <0.05) – apparently due to the post-training adaptive pressure and tone growth in the vessels. The kinesio taping was found to level down the changes – probably due to the tape increasing the outside pressure on the vessels and changing their elasticity rates. Lower right shin was tested, upon kinesio taping, with growth of Alpha index (0.14 ± 0.02 to 0.17 ± 0.00 s, p <0.05) and elastic modulus (16.20 ± 2.16 to 24.80 ± 13.82%, p <0.05). This means that the kinesio taping changes the vessels elasticity rate in the lower shin. The post-training diastolic index was tested to fall (0.85 ± 0.29 to 0.50 ± 0.18 points, p <0.05). No kinesio-taping-related changes were tested in the other body segments.

The track and field group tests found the following specific variations with taping. Upper right shin was tested with the pre-training growth of the resting venous outflow rate (22.00 ± 2.70 to 50.28 ± 24.07%, p <0.05) plus its post-training growth (25 ± 12.6% without tape and 47.42 ± 16.50% with tape, p <0.05). Lower right shin was tested with a fall of the resting venous outflow rate (25.00 ± 9.30 to 14.29 ± 5.12%, p <0.05) and post-training growth (22.00 ± 6.30 to 12.85 ± 3.89%, p <0.05). Right ankle was tested with a fall of the resting venous outflow rate (24.43 ± 6.05 to 14.43 ± 2.63%, p <0.05). Upper left shin was tested with a post-training growth of the Alpha index – indicative of the time of maximum systolic vascular filling correlated with the tone and elasticity of small vessels (arterioles) and middle arteries – (0.12 ± 0.01s without tape to 0.14 ± 0.02 s with tape, p <0.05); and growth with taping of a resting Alpha 1 index (time of rapid filling indicative of the tone and elasticity of large vessels) from 0.03 ± 0.001s to 0.06 ± 0.01s, p <0.05. Lower left shin was tested with a significant growth with taping of the elastic modulus (13.57 ± 1.98 to 19.14 ± 1.95%, p <0.05) and significant fall of the resting venous outflow (33.00 ± 13.00% without tape to 17.57 ± 5.59% with tape, p <0.05), and post-training venous outflow (24.00 ± 9.80% without tape to 14.28 ± 5.08% with tape, p <0.05). Left ankle was tested with a post-training growth of the Alpha index (0.03±0.001s without tape to 0.05±0.01s with tape, p<0.05).

Therefore, the track and field group was tested with the kinesio-taping-related changes in the blood flow indices in every tested bodily segment. Since the lead leg was right for the whole sample, the kinesio taping was of special effect on the venous outflow in the right shin; whilst the left shin taping was found to change the vessels tone and elasticity.

Conclusion. The kinesio taping was tested of special influence on the venous outflow in the lead right leg i.e. on this hemodynamics component of the venous system, plus on the left leg vessels elasticity and vascular tone. The powerlifting group was tested with virtually no changes in the left leg blood circulation with taping, whilst the right leg blood circulation was found to change only in few test rates. The study data and analyses give reasons to conclude that the kinesio taping is of little if any benefits for the powerlifting sport – in contrast to the track and field sports where it may be beneficial for the lower limb blood flow control purposes.

References

1. Achkasov E.E., Belyakova A.M., Kasatkin M.S. Kinesiological Taping Clinical Guide. Moscow, 2017. 336 p.
2. Dyakova E.Yu., Mironov A.A. Peripheral blood circulation adaptation in finswimmers. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2017. no. 10. pp. 83-85.
3. Klyukov A.I. Taping and application of kinesio tape in sports practice. Moscow, 2009. 140 p.
4. Kuzhuget A.A. Blood circulation status in legs in low and highly skilled student-athletes in different sports. Teoriya i praktika fiz. kultury. 2016. No. 1. pp. 19-21.
5. Krivoshchekov S.G., Balioz N.V., Nekipelova N.V., Kapilevich L.V. Age, gender, and individually-typological features of reaction to sharp hypoxic influence. Human Physiology 2014. 40(6), p. 613-622
6. Williams S., Whatman C., Hume., Sheerin K. Kinesio Taping in Treatment and Prevention of Sports Injuries: A Meta-Analysis of the Evidence for Its Effectiveness. Sports Med. 2012 Feb 1; 42(2):153-64.

Corresponding author: adyakova@yandex.ru

Abstract

Objective of the study was to test and analyze kinesio taping effects on the lower limb blood flows in powerlifting and track and field sports.

Methods and structure of the study. We sampled for the study the 17-28 year old athletes (n=12) including powerlifters (n=5) and sprinters and middle-distance track runners (n=7) qualified Class II to Masters of Sports, with all the sample reporting the lead right leg. Upper and lower thirds of the shins and ankles of both legs were tested by means of rheovasography using Valenta 1.4 software. Kinesio taping was used in the microcirculatory/ lymphatic correction (the so called Tunneling) version with application of the fan-shaped BBTape so that the tension-free anchor was fixed on ​​the lymph nodes and the tape tension was ranged from 0 to 20%. The tapes were fixed on proximal to distal muscles, with the tension-free tails, and with prior activation of the adhesive layer.

Results and conclusions. The kinesio taping was tested of special influence on the venous outflow in the lead right leg i.e. on this hemodynamics component of the venous system, plus on the left leg vessels elasticity and vascular tone. The powerlifting group was tested with virtually no changes in the left leg blood circulation with taping, whilst the right leg blood circulation was found to change only in few test rates. The study data and analyses give reasons to conclude that the kinesio taping is of little if any benefits for the powerlifting sport – in contrast to the track and field sports where it may be beneficial for the lower limb blood flow control purposes.