علی زاهدی

  Introduction and Purpose:

Lower limb injuries, particularly anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, are among the most common injuries in football players. One of the key risk factors associated with such injuries is dynamic knee valgus, which is linked to dysfunctional lower limb movement patterns and may negatively affect proprioception, balance, and landing quality. Among the recent non-invasive approaches proposed for improving motor performance and injury prevention is kinesiotaping. Within this method, two taping techniques—inhibitory and facilitatory—are applied to specific muscles with distinct goals to influence neuromuscular function. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of inhibitory taping (on the adductor longus muscle) and facilitatory taping (on the gluteus medius muscle) on static and dynamic balance, knee joint proprioception, and Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) scores in male football players with dynamic knee valgus.

Methodology:
A total of ۲۰ male football players aged ۱۶ to ۲۴ years with dynamic knee valgus deformity participated in this study. In this field study, the participants were subjected to three different conditions (inhibitory taping, facilitatory taping, and control), and various outcome measures were assessed. Balance was evaluated using the Bass-Stick and Y-Balance tests; proprioception was measured using the Joint Position Sense (JPS) test based on photogrammetry; and landing quality was assessed through video analysis of landing tasks using the LESS score. Data were analyzed using    version ۲۶. A repeated-measures ANOVA with between-subjects factors was employed to compare the changes and assess the variables. The level of statistical significance was set at P < ۰.۰۵.

Results:
Regarding the effect of taping, results indicated that adductor taping had a greater impact on dynamic balance in the posteromedial direction (P < ۰.۰۵), whereas gluteus medius taping showed better performance in other directions (P < ۰.۰۵). No significant difference was observed between the two taping techniques in terms of proprioception (P > ۰.۰۵), indicating that both methods had similar and non-significant effects on this component. Findings from the fourth chapter clearly demonstrated that taping significantly improved landing quality and reduced movement errors during jump-landing tasks (P < ۰.۰۵).

Discussion and Conclusion:
This study focused on the effects of two types of kinesiotaping (facilitatory and inhibitory) on motor performance in football players with dynamic knee valgus—a condition that may disrupt athletic performance and increase the risk of injury. The findings suggest that taping interventions, whether aimed at inhibiting or facilitating muscle activity, can enhance balance indices and dynamic movement skills such as jumping and landing. These results are of great importance, as these components play a crucial role in sports activities, particularly football, and are directly related to injury prevention. However, the effect of taping on proprioception was not statistically significant. This could be attributed to the complex nature of the proprioceptive system and the limited physiological impact of superficial pressure applied by taping on deep sensory receptors. Therefore, taping alone may not be sufficient to modify or enhance proprioception, and more specialized training interventions may be required.