physical fitness is involved in complex functional activities , including muscle strength , 
 muscular endurance , and thigh strength related with anaerobic power1 .
physical fitness is essential for football athletes , for 
 whom thigh strength is a highly critical factor of athletic performance2 .
in particular , injuries frequently occur in joint areas such as the knees and 
 ankles3 .
injuries around the joint areas 
 cause an abnormal functional injury in the proximal muscles and injuries in football 
 athletes decrease the quadriceps muscle function and knee stability , thus affecting athletic 
 performance .
thus , the quadriceps plays an important function in the recovery of injured 
 area , physical fitness , and muscular function .
therefore , clinical therapists have aimed to 
 strengthen the quadriceps muscle and stabilize the knee joints4 .
in general , rehabilitation therapists use 
 taping as an intermittent treatment method for pain relief and knee stability5 .
the effects of taping are relief from pain 
 in the affected parts , increase in the blood circulation , and improvement in function6 .
knee taping has been reported to correct 
 the direction of the patella femoral joint , thereby relieving tissues of the stress from 
 inflammation , and thus contributing to pain relief5 .
previous studies on taping for the lower extremities reported that it results in increases 
 in the isokinetic muscle function , grip of the upper extremities , and isometric power7,8,9,10,11 .
few studies previously identified 
 positive results from the muscle strength evaluations by using an isokinetic device after 
 the taping .
the isokinetic device has been used as a method for improving the muscle 
 strength in athletes after the isokinetic exercise was introduced as a rehabilitation 
 treatment method for patients with an orthopedic injury12 .
recently , exercise using an isokinetic device is considered highly 
 effective for improving muscular function , and has an advantage of providing objective and 
 reliable data13 . as mentioned earlier ,
taping therapy was suggested for use by clinical therapists for 
 patients recovering from an injury .
however , previous studies were conducted only in 
 athletes without general injuries who underwent kinesio taping to improve motor performance 
 ability . moreover ,
the number of studies on the isokinetic muscle function of football 
 athletes who had injuries in the lower extremities is insufficient .
hence , the present study 
 aimed to compare the differences in isokinetic muscle function of the thigh muscle in 
 football athletes with knee injuries before and after kinesio taping .
the subjects in the present study were 10 football athletes who were admitted to choi 
 sports rehabilitation clinic for injuries in the knee area , and who voluntarily provided the 
 consent for participation .
the inclusion and exclusion criteria were as follows in the 
 study : first , the onset of injury should be within 3 months prior to the start of the study . 

isokinetic muscle 
 function of the thigh muscle was measured by using the humac norm cybex extremity system 
 ( computer sports medicine inc . ,
stoughton , usa ) before and after kinesio taping ( mssm kino 
 soft inc , seoul , south korea ) .
all test protocols were approved by the institutional review 
 board of the physical therapy faculty of kangwon national university .
the mean age , height , and weight of the subjects were 20.6  years , 177.1  cm , and 70.3  kg , 
 respectively .
humac norm cybex extremity system was used to measure the isokinetic muscle 
 function of the quadriceps and hamstring muscles , which belong to the thigh muscle group 
 attached to the knee joints . during measurements with the isokinetic measurement device
, the 
 subjects were allowed to practice with 3 repetitions to adapt and fully exert their muscle 
 strength .
the axis of revolution of the dynamometer and the knee joint axis of revolution of 
 the examinee were aligned during the measurement .
the lever arm was tied to a spot higher 
 than the length of the thumb from the outer lateral bone of the ankle joints to the knee 
 joints to be measured .
the thigh muscles attached to the knee joints to be measured were 
 tightly fixed with a strap to prevent compensation , and the bodies were fixed to the 
 measurement chair by tightening the seat belts to prevent movement of the torsos . in this 
 way ,
the quadriceps and hamstring that are attached to the knee joints to be measured were 
 independently evaluated .
isokinetic muscle function was measured 10 times each at 60/s , 120/s , and 180/s .
the 
 participants were given 1-min breaks between the tests and were allowed to see their results 
 on a computer monitor during the measurement as a visual feedback in order to fully exert 
 their muscle strength .
kinesio taping was applied to the thigh muscle group , which targeted the rectus femoris 
 covering the area from the anterior inferior iliac spine , the origin , to the patellar 
 tuberosity of the tibia bone , the insertion of the knee joint . for the application of 
 kinesio taping
, the examinees were postured with the muscles stretched from the anterior 
 inferior iliac spine as the starting point .
kinesio taping was applied on the hamstring muscle , 
 starting from the ischial tuberosity , the origin , to the lateral part of the fibular head in 
 the biceps femoris and to the insertion of the lateral condyle in the tibia .
the tape was overlapped starting from the ischial tuberosity to one - third of the region of 
 the hamstring and then applied to the remaining two - thirds of the hamstring , the distal 
 part , dividing it into the medial and lateral directions .
kinesio taping was applied on the 
 hamstring , along the muscle grain , in a stretch posture15 .
changes in the isokinetic muscle function depending on differences between the injured side 
 before and after taping are as follows ( table 
 1table 1.thigh muscle isokinetic function with or without kinesio taping of the affected 
 sidevariabledegree(/s)actionbeforeaftermeansdmeansdpeak torque60extension195.831.6201.329.4flexion110.922.9115.119.3120extension160.220.9165.221.0flexion94.420.499.914.5180extension139.716.9142.215.4flexion81.118.585.918.5total work60extension1,938.0370.01,964.2323.0flexion1,185.1300.41,217.3253.0120extension1,702.5238.11,744.4231.2flexion1,012.9254.11,104.4206.2180extension1,466.0240.41,488.2181.7flexion863.3250.4930.8226.7average power60extension133.519.4136.819.6flexion85.915.389.113.6120extension203.622.4206.518.7flexion129.428.8136.921.0180extension231.926.9241.420.9flexion142.830.0152.228.6*p < 0.05 ) : of the three variables , only one , namely , motion at each angular velocity in 
 each variable showed a significant increase , and no significant increases were observed in 
 the motions at other angular velocities ( p < 0.05 ) .
changes in the isokinetic muscle 
 function depending on differences between the normal side before and after taping are as 
 follows ( table 2table 2.thigh muscle isokinetic function with or without kinesio taping of the 
 non - affected sidevariabledegree(/s)actionbeforeaftermeansdmeansdpeak torque60extension221.228.4223.831.7flexion126.715.1118.316.1120extension174.224.0179.718.7flexion104.016.2109.013.3180extension149.715.4151.813.7flexion92.914.594.113.5total work60extension2,183.2337.42,230.4389.1flexion1,413.2281.11,328.0282.7120extension1,815.2276.71,864.7282.2flexion1,165.9234.01,211.8176.6180extension1,592.6244.31,603.2226.3flexion1,021.1205.51,018.3144.8average power60extension147.120.3155.819.7flexion101.414.995.915.1120extension216.422.9224.621.8flexion146.125.2151.715.7180extension246.424.2255.121.3flexion166.924.8170.323.5*p < 0.05 ) : in the non - affected side , extension average power at three angular 
 velocities ( 60/s , 120/s , and 180/s ) showed significant increases . an increase in the 
 isokinetic muscle function
was observed to be dependent on the angular velocity , except for 
 some parts as in the affected side .
despite being young , football athletes are exposed to injury risks in the lower extremities 
 because of undergoing a substantial amount of trainings and games .
demands for physical 
 therapy and rehabilitation treatment tend to increase owing to their injuries .
moreover , 
 their thigh muscular function is markedly deteriorated , with increased fatigue , decline in 
 muscle strength , and body imbalance16 .
rehabilitation therapists have paid much attention to the proximal areas of injured joints 
 for the recovery of muscular function .
one method is taping , which has been widely used to 
 support and strengthen the components of body structure , including the joints , muscles , and 
 tendons17 .
however , few previous 
 studies have reported that taping had no effect18 , 
 19 .
a previous study reported that compared the effect of kinesio taping before and after 
 applications , no difference was observed in the peak torque value20 . in the present study , however , among the values measured 
 at 180/s of angular velocity , the peak torque at the injured side and flexion showed a 
 significant increase .
in addition , the flexion motion showed a significant increase among 
 the total work values measured at 120/s of angular velocity .
although other peak torque and 
 total work values showed no significant increases , their values tended to increase according 
 to the results of overall comparisons between the mean values before and after the therapy . 

similarly , a previous study on knee joints showed a significant increase only at 60/s of 
 angular velocity21 .
as these effects were 
 from one - time application of kinesio taping , they may not be significant .
nevertheless , they 
 may be significant in the psychological aspects of the athletes and knee stability . 

furthermore , kinesio taping is considered useful for the recovery of functions of the knee 
 flexor muscle of athletes in sports that involve a substantial amount of running and motion , 
 such as football .
more results from comparisons between the peak torque values before and after taping showed 
 significant differences for the normal side but not for the injured side .
however , the 
 flexion exceptionally showed a significant reduction at the angular velocity of 60/s .
this 
 is considered to be caused by kinesio taping , whose effect on muscle fatigue might be 
 greater than its desired outcomes during measurement of isokinetic muscular function in the 
 examinees who might have complained of psychologically conscious discomfort in kinesio 
 taping .
therefore , among the 18 variables , peak torque , total work , and average power were 
 significantly increased in the affected side , whereas the rest of the variables had no 
 significant increase . despite this
, no overall significant increase in the isokinetic muscle 
 function was observed in the present study ; kinesio taping is believed to be useful as 
 adjunct therapy for improving functional performance ability .
in addition , it is expected to 
 affect generation of action potential , increase in circulation , and stabilization effects of 
 joints via physiological mechanisms .
thus , further studies on multilateral aspects , 
 including muscle activity assessed by using electromyography , evaluation of proprioception , 
 effects on the circulatory system , and kinematic analysis , are deemed necessary in order to 
 investigate the effects of kinesio taping .
 [ purpose ] the purpose of this study was to determine the difference in isokinetic muscle 
 function in football athletes with a knee injury with and without kinesio taping . 
 
 [ subjects ] the subjects for this study were 10 football athletes ( males ) with a knee 
 injury . [ methods ] measurements were performed by using cybex dynamometer under uniform 
 motion before and after the application of kinesio tape to the quadriceps and hamstring 
 muscle . 
 maximal concentric knee extension and flexion at three angular velocities ( 60/s , 
 120/s , and 180/s ) were measured . 
 [ results ] a significant difference was found in peak 
 torque and total work of the flexion at 120/s and 180/s , as well as in the average power 
 of extension at 180/s . 
 [ conclusion ] though it is not the main therapy for muscle function 
 in football athletes with injury , kinesio taping was an effective adjunct therapy . 
INTRODUCTION
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION