Immediate and fatigue-related effects of subtalar sling taping in individuals with chronic ankle instability.

OBJECTIVES: To compare the immediate and fatigue-related effects of rigid subtalar sling taping, kinesio subtalar sling taping, and sham taping in physically active individuals with chronic ankle instability (CAI). DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: University Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety physically active adults with CAI were randomized to RST, KST, or ST (n = 30 each). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was the Y-Balance Test (YBT) composite score. Secondary outcomes were joint position sense error, Weight-Bearing Lunge Test, Single-Leg Hop, Side Hop, and Figure-of-8 Hop performance, assessed at baseline, post-taping, post-fatigue, and after a 20-min recovery period. RESULTS: Group × time interactions were significant for all outcomes after adjustment for sex (all p < .001). For YBT, KST demonstrated higher scores than ST post-fatigue (MD = 4.28, 95% CI 0.16 to 8.40) and after recovery (MD = 4.27, 95% CI 0.15 to 8.39), whereas RST-ST differences were not significant. Baseline-adjusted sensitivity analyses supported active-taping effects for selected outcomes, but differences varied by outcome and time point. No consistent superiority was observed between RST and KST. CONCLUSIONS: RST and KST showed outcome-dependent effects after taping and fatigue; statistically significant between-group differences were not uniform across outcomes.