Invloed van kinesiologie pleister op EMG-aktivering van skapulêre stabiliseerders en balspoed van `n tennisafslaan

English: Introduction: The effects of Kinesiology Tape on the neuromuscular system have been discussed in recent literature. The effects on power, range of motion, proprioception, and muscle strength can be vital to reach optimal functional performance. There is no research available that studies the effect of Kinesiology Tape on the scapular stabilisers in tennis players. Aim: The aim of the study was to determine if Kinesiology Tape can have i) an effect on the muscle activation of serratus anterior and lower trapezius muscles and ii) the ball speed of the tennis serve. Method: The study was a quantitive analitical case study on 19 male and 11 female (n = 30) tennis players (mean age = 19.83 years). The muscle activation of the serratus anterior and lower trapezius muscles were measured by means of EMG. Ball speed were measured with a Radar Speedgun. The intervention was the application of Kinesiology Tape on the scapular stabilisers. Results: The lower trapezius muscle`s mean highest measurement (p = 0.7143; t = 0.37; df = 29) and maximum measurements (p-value = 0.5376; t-value = -0.62; df = 29) improved, but were not statistical significant. The p-values for the serratus anterior muscles were 0.2181 (highest measurement) (t-values = 1.26; df = 29) and 0.0045 (mean measurement) (t-value = 3.08; df = 29) which are statistical significant. The mean minimum service speed improved after the application of Kinesiology Tape with 3.1 km/h, the mean maximum speed with 1.666 km/h and the mean mean speed with 1.9233 km/h. There was a statistical significant improvement of 1.9233 km/h in the mean serve speed (p = 0.218; t-value = 1.26; df = 29). Discussion and conclusion: It appears that there can be a statistical significant improvement in the mean EMG activity of the serratus anterior muscle after the application of Kinesiology Tape on the scapular stabilisers. No conclusion can be made on the effect the taping has neither on the ball speed of the serve nor on the activation of the lower trapezius muscle. The results are difficult to interpret because of the complex biomechanical interaction of the kinetic chain.