Effects of kinesiotaping therapy on the pain and discomfort of acute ankle sprains in Korean university students

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of kinesiotaping therapy on the pain and discomfort associated with ankle sprains in Korean university students using a pretest-posttest experimental design with a non-equivalent control group. METHOD: Kinesiotaping was applied once and maintained for three consecutive days(N = 26). Control subjects had a salicylic acid component medicine patch applied once a day, for three consecutive days (N = 27). Pain and discomfort before application and at 10 minutes, 24 hours and 48 hours after application were measured. RESULTS: There was a significant between-group difference at each time point after application (p CONCLUSIONS: Kinesiotaping may be easily applied to rapidly improve the short-term pain and discomfort associated with ankle sprains.