The effect of bracing and taping in sports

There has been an increase in the use of bracing, and to some extent taping during the last decade. The sports medicine community has not only developed a greater interest in the prevention of injuries, e.g. ligament injuries to the knee and ankle, there has also been an interest in an early return of the injured athlete to sports after both operative and non-operative treatment programs. This interest, coupled with the injured athlete striving to return to his/her original sport at the same intensity level, has challenged the limits of joint support provided by bracing and taping. The purpose of this paper is to review the biomechanics of bracing and taping as they apply to both the knee and ankle joints.