Comparison of soccer instep kicking kinematics with and without elastic taping

The present study aimed to determine the effect of elastic taping on soccer instep kicking kinematics. Fifteen male university soccer players performed maximal instep kicking with and without Y-shaped elastic taping on the skin surface of the rectus femoris muscle. Their kicking motions were captured at 500 Hz using a motion capture system. The thickness of the rectus femoris muscle was measured using an ultrasound scanner prior to the kicking session. The thickness of the rectus femoris muscle and kicking leg kinematics in both the conditions were compared. The thickness of the rectus femoris muscle increased significantly after elastic tape application. In conjunction with this change, kinematic variables of the kicking leg, such as peak hip flexion angular velocity and knee and foot linear velocities significantly increased. However, there was no change in the knee extension angular and hip linear velocities. The elastic tape application caused deformation of the rectus femoris muscle and improvement of the instep kicking performance. The study findings provide a new insight on the effect of elastic taping on dynamic sports performance, such as in soccer instep kicking.