To evaluate how applying kinesio taping impacts lower back muscle discomfort immediately after use and 24 hours later during a cross-country skiing camp for college students. The current research employed a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled methodology. Of the 60 attendees at a winter skiing camp, 54 consented to join the research (average age 21.3 years, including 20 females and 34 males). Post 3 days of intense cross-country skiing training (lasting 4 hours each day), the volunteers were, balanced by gender, randomly categorized into three groups. One group received kinesio taping on the lower back, another had placebo tape applied, and the third group did not receive any tape. A two-way ANOVA with Bonferroni correction revealed that the lower back muscle soreness levels in the kinesio taping group decreased significantly from the initial measurement to 24 hours post-application (p= 0.020). Kinesio taping reduced low back muscle discomfort 24 hours after use following several days of cross-country skiing in physically active college students. The kinesio taping technique may prove advantageous in alleviating post-exercise delayed onset muscle soreness among healthy college-level athletes.
Light low back muscle soreness caused by several days of XC skiing in physically active collegiate students was reduced 24 h after the application of KT (below 1 point, i.e., <10%). The KT method may be beneficial in reducing post-exercise 24 h DOMS and in enabling a faster return to physical activity in healthy sport collegiate students. Therefore, athletic trainers and physical therapists may apply KT to athletes before competition in order to control soreness or cramping in the muscles.
Merino-Marban, R., Smuka, I., Romero-Ramos, O., Fernandez-Rodriguez, E., & Mayorga-Vega, D. (2021). Acute and 24 h effect of kinesio taping on lower back muscle soreness during continued practice of cross-country skiing among collegiate students. A double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Journal of Sports Sciences, 39(21), 2427–2433. https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2021.1936958
