Kinesio Taping for the Knee and Ankle: Acute Impact on Balance, Proprioception, and ACL Risk

Objective: This study aims to evaluate and compare the acute effects of Kinesio taping applied to the knee and ankle on balance, proprioception, and anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk, assessed via the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS). Methods: A randomized crossover design will be used. The study will be conducted at Gazi University with 24 healthy adult volleyball athletes (≥18 years) who have been licensed players for at least 5 years. Participants will be randomly assigned to two experimental sequences: Group A: knee taping followed by ankle taping Group B: ankle taping followed by knee taping Each taping intervention will be separated by a one-week washout period. Assessments will be performed immediately before and after each taping session. Knee taping will be performed using a valgus-control spiral taping technique with 50% stretch. Ankle taping will be conducted using the "figure-of-eight" method, also with 50% stretch. All applications will be administered by the same licensed physiotherapist to ensure consistency. Outcome Measures: Balance: Y-Balance Test (anterior, posteromedial, posterolateral reach) Proprioception: Joint position sense tests for the knee and ankle (with eyes closed, angular replication tasks) Injury Risk: LESS test evaluating landing biomechanics and scoring 17 specific kinematic errors Statistical analyses will be performed using SPSS v24.0. Paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests will be used depending on data normality. A significance level of p\<0.05 will be adopted. Expected Results: Kinesio taping is expected to acutely enhance proprioceptive feedback and postural control in both the knee and ankle, resulting in improved landing mechanics and a reduction in ACL injury risk. The relative effectiveness of each taping site will also be compared.