Unit:
Κατεύθυνση Αθλητιατρική-Αθλητική Φυσικοθεραπεία και ΑποκατάστασηLibrary of the School of Physical Education and Sport Science
Supervisors info:
Μανδαλίδης Δ., Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, ΣΕΦΑΑ, ΕΚΠΑ
Γελαδάς Ν., Καθηγητής, ΣΕΦΑΑ, ΕΚΠΑ,
Τσέπης Η., Καθηγητής, Σχολή Επιστημών Αποκατάστασης Υγείας, Πανεπιστήμιο Πατρών
Original Title:
Η επίδραση της μεταφοράς βάρους με και χωρίς κινησιο-επίδεση στον στασικό έλεγχο του σώματος κατά τη βάδιση
Translated title:
The effect of load carriage with and without kinesiotaping on postural control during walking
Summary:
Load carriage on the front or back side of the trunk, on flat or inclined surfaces can provoke various effects, which make people's everyday life difficult. Some of them are muscular imbalances of the trunk, pain at the posterior side of the trunk and impaired balance. Kinesiotaping has been studied as a technique to unload the trunk while standing or sitting, but not while walking. This method is based on the application of elastic adhesive tapes, which affect the muscle activity and possibly the stability of the body by stimulating the skin receptors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of load carriage, with and without kinesiotaping on postural control during walking. Postural control was determined by recording EMG activity of trunk muscles and trunk sway. Kinesiotaping was applied to 30 young adults without musculoskeletal imbalances or painful syndromes. The EMG activity of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar erector spinae as well as of the rectus abdominis was recorded using a bio signal recording system during walking on a treadmill. Trunk sway was measured using an inertial sensor attached to the back side of the trunk, which was synchronized with a gait analysis system consisting of optical sensors. Each participant walked for 10 minutes on a treadmill at a speed of 5 km/h. The gait protocol required to gradually increase the slope of the treadmill's surface every 2.5 minutes, from 0% (level) to 5%, 10% and 15% and it was performed without and by suspending a standard backpack weighing 15% of each participant's body weight at the front or the back side of the trunk, without and with kinesiotape. A 5–7-minute rest was given between the load conditions and a 30-minute rest was given between the recording of the EMG activity of the muscles with and without kinesiotape. The potential effect of fatigue on the research data was prevented by randomly alternating the various testing conditions (slopes, load condition, kinesiotaping). A two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used for the statistical analysis of the data. The results of the study showed an increase in EMG activity of all tested muscles as the slope of the treadmill’s surface increased regardless of whether or not load was carried. Also, changes were observed due to the way the load was carried. The greatest activity was recorded during the load carriage on the front side of the trunk. Regarding trunk sway, an effect of slope was observed on the anteroposterior displacement of the center of pressure and trunk sway area, which gradually increased with increasing slope regardless of whether or not load was carried. The effect of the way the load was carried was found only in the anteroposterior displacement of the center of pressure where the largest value was recorded when carrying the load on the front side of the trunk. Kinesiotaping did not affect the EMG activity and the trunk sway regardless of load carriage or not. In light of the findings of the present study, the application of kinesiotaping cannot be recommended for unloading the paraspinal extensor muscles and stabilizing the trunk during walking on a flat or inclined surface with or without load carriage on the front or the back side of the trunk. In conclusion, load carriage affected the postural control while walking on a flat or uphill surface, while kinesiotaping cannot be recommended for trunk muscle unloading and stabilization with or without load carriage on the front or the back side of the trunk.
Main subject category:
Education - Sport science
Keywords:
load carriage, kinesiotaping, postural control, EMG activity, walking, inclination
Number of references:
254
