Graduation Year

2014

Date of Submission

2014

Document Type

Open Access Senior Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts

Department

W.M. Keck Science Department

Second Department

Biology

Reader 1

Steve Graves

Reader 2

David Hansen

Terms of Use & License Information

Terms of Use for work posted in Scholarship@Claremont.

Rights Information

© 2014 Neel Kotrappa

Abstract

Kinesio® Tape was invented in 1973, and since has been used in various clinical and therapy settings to prevent and heal a multitude of physical conditions. Kinesio® Tape is a 100% cotton-based elastic tape that when applied to the skin pulls the skin upwards and creates more space by lifting the fascia and soft tissue, thus increasing blood flow and decreasing edema. The tape was also purported to facilitate the strengthening of weakened muscles through neuromuscular facilitation. The objective behind this study was to determine the long-term effects of applied forearm Kinesio® Tape on maximal grip strength when paired with an exercise program. The study took place at the CMS Athletic Training Center, and was designed to be a matched-pairs, single group, repeated measures experiment. Thirty- two healthy members of the Claremont College community voluntarily participated in this study. There was 16 male and 16 female participants (average age: 21.46 ± 1.76 years; average height 174.92 ± 9.40 cm; average body weight 69.17 ± 9.20 kg). The maximal grip strength of both the dominant and non-dominant hands was measured using a JAMAR Hydraulic Hand Dynamometer. Each of the 32 subjects also participated in an exercise program for two weeks and provided a grip strength measurement at the end of each week. Maximal grip strength values were assessed using a standard paired-samples t-test. Results revealed a significant difference in grip strength in the dominant arm (exercise with Kinesio® Tape) compared to the non-dominant arm (exercise only). When combined with a relatively low to medium level exercise program, Kinesio® Tape significantly increased grip strength when compared to an exercise program alone in a healthy population.

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