Effect of respiratory muscle’s kinesiology taping on physicalfitness parameters in male university students: double-blindcross-over study

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of diaphragmatic kinesiology taping on physical fitness parameters in university students. Twenty male university students participated in this study voluntarily. Muscle facilitation technique was applied on back and abdominal region coinciding diaphragm muscle. For sham application, same tape material was applied without a special stretch or technique. International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ-SF), 2 km walking test, prone plank, side plank, Sorenson test and Standing stork test were used for evaluation. After the first evaluation, we waited 72 hours for the second application. Firstly, 10 participants had tape application and the other half had sham taping. In the second session, we changed the application. In the taping and placebo applications, a significant relationship was found between prone endurance test values before and after application (p<0.05). In the kinesio tape and placebo applications, a significant relationship was found in 2 km walk performance compared to untaped condition evaluation before and after the application (p <0.05). In the before-after evaluations within the group, a significant difference was found in the kinesio tape and placebo applications in the 2-kilometer walking test, but there was no statistically significant difference in the comparisons between the kinesio tape and placebo applications.