Bragg Richard W, Macmahon John M, Overom Erin K, Yerby Scott A, Matheson Gordon O, Carter Dennis R, Andriacchi Thomas P
Stanford University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Biomechanical Engineering Division, Stanford, CA 94305-4038, USA.
Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2002 Mar;34(3):403-10. doi: 10.1097/00005768-200203000-00004.
Athletic tape has been commonly reported to lose much of its structural support after 20 min of exercise. Although many studies have addressed the functional performance characteristics of athletic tape, its mechanical properties are poorly understood. This study examines the failure and fatigue properties of several commonly used athletic tapes.
A Web-based survey of professional sports trainers was used to select the following three tapes for the study: Zonas (Johnson & Johnson), Leukotape (Beiersdorf), and Jaylastic (Jaybird & Mais). Using a hydraulic material testing system (MTS), eight samples of each tape were compared in three different mechanical tests: load-to-failure, fatigue testing under load control, and fatigue testing under displacement control. Differences in tape microstructure were used to interpret the results of the mechanical tests.
Significant differences (P < 0.001) in failure load, elongation at failure, and stiffness were found from failure tests. Significant differences were also found (P < 0.001) in fatigue behavior under both modes of control. As a representative example, in one normalized displacement control fatigue test after 20 min of cycling, 21% (Zonas), 29% (Leukotape), and 57% (Jaylastic) of the mechanical support was lost. After cycling, all tapes loaded to failure showed increased stiffness (P < 0.001), indicating significant energy absorption during cycling. Observed differences in the tapes' microstructure were qualitatively consistent with the measured differences in their mechanical properties.
In understanding the shortcomings of currently available tapes, the results of these tests can now be used as benchmarks with which to compare and develop future tape designs. Ultimately, these improved tapes should reduce ankle injuries among athletes.
通常有报道称运动胶带在运动20分钟后会失去大部分结构支撑。尽管许多研究探讨了运动胶带的功能性能特征，但其机械性能仍知之甚少。本研究考察了几种常用运动胶带的失效和疲劳特性。
通过对专业体育教练进行基于网络的调查，选择了以下三种胶带进行研究：Zonas（强生公司）、Leukotape（拜尔斯道夫公司）和Jaylastic（杰伊鸟与梅斯公司）。使用液压材料测试系统（MTS），对每种胶带的八个样本进行了三种不同的机械测试比较：失效载荷测试、载荷控制下的疲劳测试和位移控制下的疲劳测试。胶带微观结构的差异用于解释机械测试结果。
失效测试发现，在失效载荷、断裂伸长率和刚度方面存在显著差异（P < 0.001）。在两种控制模式下的疲劳行为也发现了显著差异（P < 0.001）。作为一个代表性例子，在一次20分钟骑行后的归一化位移控制疲劳测试中，机械支撑损失了21%（Zonas）、29%（Leukotape）和57%（Jaylastic）。骑行后，所有加载至失效的胶带刚度均增加（P < 0.001），表明骑行过程中有显著的能量吸收。观察到的胶带微观结构差异在质量上与它们机械性能的测量差异一致。
在了解现有胶带的缺点后，这些测试结果现在可作为基准，用于比较和开发未来的胶带设计。最终，这些改进的胶带应能减少运动员的脚踝损伤。
