THE ACUTE EFFECT OF STATIC VERSUS PROPRIOCEPTIVE NEUROMUSCULAR FACILITATION STRETCHING COMBINED WITH KINESIOLOGY TAPING® OF HAMSTRING MUSCLES ON FUNCTIONAL TESTS IN ADOLESCENT TAEKWONDO ATHLETES

Purpose: In taekwondo, muscle flexibility specifically in the lower limb is of great importance for athletic performance. In this study, we evaluated the acute effects of static versus proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) stretching combined with kinesiology taping (KT) of the hamstring muscle on functional tests in adolescent taekwondo athletes. Methods: 20 adolescent taekwondo athletes aged 9 to 18 years with red, black belt color participated in this study. They performed static, or PNF stretching in both legs, then two I strips with 30% tension as an inhibitory fashion was applied over the hamstring muscles of one leg and the other leg was determined as control. Single leg vertical jump test, single leg hop test, and taekwondo specific agility test (TSAT) were performed before, just after, and 24 hours after interventions. Results: Repeated measures ANOVA test was used for statistical analysis of the data. All functional tests results demonstrated significant improvement over time (Single leg vertical jump (p=0.005), single leg hop test (p=0.01), and TSAT (p=0.03)) but none of the stretching or the KT groups affected the functional performance of the participants (Single leg vertical jump (p=0.36) and single leg hop test (p=0.50)). Conclusion: We think that both static and PNF stretching exercises improve the functional performance of adolescent taekwando athletes for up to 24 hours, however KT application has no significant effect.