Effects of achilles tendon taping and bracing on landing biomechanics

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness and biomechanical responses of an Achilles tendon tape and an Achilles brace (Cho-pat) in a landing activity. Ten female athletes from varsity sports of a NCAA-I school whose activities commonly contain repetitive eccentric loading participated in this study. Simultaneous recording of sagittal high-speed video (120 Hz) and ground reaction forces (GRF, 1200 Hz) were conducted during the trials. The first condition served as a control involving landings without any taping or bracing. The subjects were then asked to perform the 5 landing trials before and after a treadmill running for 15 minutes at a self-selected pace (inclined 7 ° for the last 10 min) with either the brace or the tape. The order of the devices was randomized. Selected GRF and kinematic variables were evaluated with a repeated measures analysis of variance using SPSS (statistical software program). Exercise decreased both first peak GRF (F1) and loading rate of F1 for both taping and bracing. Range of Motion, contact velocity, maximum velocity and maximum joint angle for the pre-bracing and taping conditions were significantly lower than the control condition. It was found that both the Achilles tendon taping and Cho-pat Achilles tendon strap could be suggested as a tool for helping prevent and/or reduce further injury to the tendon. However, the Achilles tendon tape should be considered as ideal choice of support.