Tang Chia-Yu, Huang Ying-Che, Hsu Fu-Shun, Yu Chia-Hsien, Lai Chang-Chi, Fu Szu-Kai
Graduate Institute of Sports Training, College of Kinesiology, University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan.
Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care Medicine, Yangming Branch, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
Front Physiol. 2025 Apr 28;16:1588339. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2025.1588339. eCollection 2025.
Kinesiology taping (KT) is widely used to support muscle function and recovery, but its optimal application timing remains unclear. While some suggest pre-exercise KT provides protective benefits, others propose post-exercise KT aids recovery. Eccentric contractions often lead to eccentric exercise-induced muscle damage (EIMD), causing strength loss, soreness, and reduced range of motion. Whether KT timing influences its effectiveness in mitigating or accelerating EIMD recovery requires further investigation.
This study examined whether KT, applied before (KT-pre) or after (KT-post) eccentric exercise of the knee extensors, could mitigate or hasten recovery from EIMD in the lower limbs.
12 healthy adult males (22.0 ± 1.7 years) participated in a repeated-measures crossover study under three conditions: KT-pre, KT-post, and a no-taping control (CON). Participants performed 72 eccentric contractions of the knee extensors on the non-dominant leg using an isokinetic dynamometer. Outcome measures included maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) normalized to body weight, rate of force development (RFD) in the 0-200 ms interval, neuromuscular efficiency (NME, defined as the ratio of peak torque to integrated electromyography), active ROM of knee flexion (measured via goniometry), and subjective muscle soreness (100-mm visual analogue scale). Assessments were conducted at baseline and at 0-, 24-, and 48-h post-exercise.
When expressed as a percentage of baseline, both peak torque and RFD in the 0-200 ms interval declined significantly at 0- and 24-h post-exercise ( < 0.05) in all groups, with no significant intergroup differences. The iEMG parameter remained unchanged. NME declined significantly at 0 h ( < 0.05) in all conditions; however, at 24 h, the KT-pre group exhibited significantly higher NME than the control (79.3% ± 12.8% vs. 94.4% ± 17.4%, = 0.0052). Active ROM decreased and subjective muscle soreness increased significantly at 0 and 24 h ( < 0.05) across all groups, with no significant intergroup differences.
Although KT-pre demonstrated a short-term protective effect immediately after eccentric exercise, neither pre- nor post-exercise taping significantly mitigated muscle damage or enhanced recovery. Further research is needed to clarify KT's long-term benefits and its effects on EIMD in other muscle groups.
肌内效贴布（KT）被广泛用于支持肌肉功能和恢复，但其最佳应用时机仍不明确。一些人认为运动前使用KT具有保护作用，另一些人则提出运动后使用KT有助于恢复。离心收缩常导致离心运动诱导的肌肉损伤（EIMD），引起力量下降、酸痛和活动范围减小。KT的应用时机是否会影响其减轻或加速EIMD恢复的效果，需要进一步研究。
本研究探讨在膝伸肌进行离心运动之前（运动前KT）或之后（运动后KT）应用KT，是否可以减轻或加速下肢EIMD的恢复。
12名健康成年男性（22.0±1.7岁）参与了一项重复测量交叉研究，共三种条件：运动前KT、运动后KT和无贴布对照（CON）。参与者使用等速测力计在非优势腿上进行72次膝伸肌的离心收缩。结果指标包括按体重标准化的最大自主等长收缩（MVIC）、0至200毫秒间隔内的力量发展速率（RFD）、神经肌肉效率（NME，定义为峰值扭矩与积分肌电图的比值）、膝关节屈曲的主动活动范围（通过角度计测量）以及主观肌肉酸痛（100毫米视觉模拟量表）。在基线以及运动后0、24和48小时进行评估。
以基线的百分比表示时，所有组在运动后0和24小时，0至200毫秒间隔内的峰值扭矩和RFD均显著下降（P<0.05），组间无显著差异。肌电图参数保持不变。在所有条件下，NME在0小时时均显著下降（P<0.05）；然而，在24小时时，运动前KT组的NME显著高于对照组（79.3%±12.8%对94.4%±17.4%，P = 0.0052）。所有组在0和24小时时，主动活动范围均显著减小，主观肌肉酸痛均显著增加（P<0.05），组间无显著差异。
尽管运动前KT在离心运动后立即显示出短期保护作用，但运动前和运动后贴布均未显著减轻肌肉损伤或促进恢复。需要进一步研究以阐明KT的长期益处及其对其他肌肉群EIMD的影响。
