Instant effects of Mcconnell taping technique on knee kinematicsand single-leg jump performance in athletes

Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a syndrome that accounts for 20-40% of all knee-related problems and it is common in society. PFPS may lead to taking a break or quitting sports in case it is seen in athletes. Although the etiology of PFPS is not fully known, one of the main reasons of PFPS syndrome is that abnormal lateral gliding of patella in movements such as squatting and jumping due to the difference in the strength and firing rates of the VM and VL muscles. The purpose of this study is to examine the acute effect of McConnell patellar taping technique on single leg squat jump performance and knee kinematics. Yet, this study focuses on athletes who are asymptomatic in terms of PFPS with a lateral glide of the patella of 0.5 cm or more. For this purpose; in the single leg squat jump performance of ten athletes with and without tape, vertical ground reaction forces (Kistler, BioWare), muscle activation (Noraxon Ultium, MR3) and knee kinematic data (Vicon, Nexus) were collected synchronously. It is seen that taping does not cause a significant change in vertical jump height but it has a high effect size on the maximum knee flexion angle in the pushing phase and a medium effect size in the landing phase. While there was no significant difference between the situations in vertical ground reaction forces in the push-off and landing phases, it was found that the band had a medium effect size on the vertical ground reaction force in the landing phase. In future, studies will reveal more clearly the effect of taping on vertical jump performance by examining athletes who are symptomatic for PFPS.