Investigation of the effects of two different external support methods on wrist proprioception in healthy subjects

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of taping and elastic bandage methods on proprioception applied to the wrist in healthy subjects. Method: 68 healthy students from Dokuz Eylül University School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation were included our study and these students were randomized into two groups of 34 people. External fixations were to applied dominant hands for 24 hours in both groups. Proprioception evaluated before the external fixation, 20 minutes and 24 hours after applying the external fixation (immediately before removing), and immediately after removing the external fixation. Results: In both groups we found significant improvement in the proprioception evaluation (p<0.05). There was significant improvements in proprioception sense after 20 minutes of applying external fixation and before removing it (p<0.05). Although after the external fixation was removed a significant decrease in proprioception was observed compared with the evaluation before removing the external fixation (p<0.05), significant improvement found in the proprioception compared with the first evaluation (p<0.05). In comparison of groups, the taping group have better results of flexion movement than the bandage group after 20 minutes of applying external fixation (p<0.05), but in other evaluations there is no significant difference between the two groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: It has been found that the use of both external fixation methods in healthy subjects has improved the sense of proprioception. These procedures can be used as a complementary treatment in the rehabilitation period after wrist injury in the clinic. Keywords: Wrist, External Fixation, Taping, Bandaging, Proprioception