Beyond skin contact: joint-crossing as the active component of asymmetric dynamic taping for badminton performance, a...

Dynamic taping (DT) employs extensible elastic tape as an external spring to share biomechanical load through elastic recoil, yet its sport-specific effects in healthy competitive athletes remain unestablished. This randomized, sham-controlled trial examined whether asymmetric DT to the dominant-leg knee and non-dominant-leg ankle would acutely improve dynamic balance, countermovement jump (CMJ) height, and badminton-specific agility in 30 competitive adolescents. A sham taping (ST) preserved cutaneous input while removing mechanical load-sharing. Significant condition × time interactions were observed for Y Balance Test (YBT)-dominant (F = 6.202, p = .019), YBT-non-dominant (p = .004), CMJ height (F = 9.829, p = .004), and six-point footwork time (F = 29.905, p < .001). DT increased YBT scores by 3.45-3.77%, CMJ height by 3.36%, and reduced footwork time by 5.34% (d = 0.19-0.59); ST produced only trivial changes (d < 0.12). Joint-crossing rather than cutaneous stimulation alone may be the active component contributing to the performance benefits of DT, supporting asymmetric joint-crossing DT as a practical pre-competition adjunct for racket sport athletes.