Spatting restricts ankle motion more effectively than taping during exercise

Int J Exerc Sci 2(2) : 72-82, 2009. Ankle injuries, via plantarflexion (PF) and inversion, are commonplace today. To reduce ankle injuries, restrictive appliances such as taping and bracing have been employed. These appliances, however, have the disadvantage of potentially loosening considerably with mild activity. Spatting—applying tape over the shoe and sock—has been suggested as a viable alternative, yet its efficacy has not been researched widely. We examined the effects of taping or spatting the ankles on 17 men (age = 20.7 ± 2.1 years; height = 185.7 ± 5.7 cm; mass = 93.6 ± 16.2 kg) before, during, and after 60 minutes of exercise involving multi-directional activity. Active range of motion (ROM) for PF and inversion was measured via goniometry for each subject's dominant leg to establish baseline values. ROM was measured after the appliances were applied, then following a five-minute warm-up period, and after each of three, 20-minute exercise periods. The subjects also completed a 5-item, 5-point Likert-type scale survey regarding their perceptions of each ankle appliance with respect to comfort, effectiveness, and protective ability. Separate, two-way ANOVAs with repeated measures were used to assess differences in PF and inversion ROM relative to time. A series of Wilcoxon tests were used t