[A systematic review of the functional effectiveness of kinesiotaping in individuals with ankle instability]

Ankle instability often seen in people who have suffered repeated ankle sprains. Kinesio Tape is a technique widely applied in recent years, despite not having enough evidence to support its application.

To determine the functional effectiveness of Kinesio Tape in individuals with ankle instability.

Systematic review.

A systematic search of articles was performed where Kinesio Tape was applied in subjects with ankle instability in the following databases: PubMed Central; PubMed/Medline; Cochrane; Embase; Sciencedirect; Biomed Central; CINAHL; Lippincott Williams and Wilkins; SAGE and Wiley-Blackwell.

Only clinical trials were selected, in which patients with ankle instability were intervened by applying Kinesio Tape and which included at least one outcome variable associated with ankle function.

364 articles were found. Ten met the inclusion criteria; five presented high and five moderate methodological quality. In most cases, one article measured more than one variable. Two articles showed improvements in muscle strength. Of four articles that evaluated balance, two observed improvements; one article observe improvements in proprioception; two articles measured postural control, without significant improvements; one article did not observe significant improvements in neuromuscular control. Stability (one article), muscular activity (one article) and functionality (one article) did not report significant improvements with the use of Kinesio Tape. On the other hand, Kinesio tape does not report significant improvements with respect to postural control, neuromuscular control, muscle activity, joint stability and functionality in subjects suffering from ankle instability.

Kinesio Tape is effective for improvement of muscle strength, balance and proprioception in subjects with ankle instability. However, Kinesio Tape does not report significant improvement of postural control, neuromuscular control, muscle activity, joint stability and functionality in people with ankle instability.