Effectiveness of Shoulder Performance Kinesio Taping Versus Sham Taping Along with Conventional Exercise on Strength, Power, and Agility of Upper Limb Among Recreational Badminton Players – A Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: Kinesio taping (KT) is widely used in sports rehabilitation to enhance functional performance, but its effectiveness in improving upper limb strength, power, and agility among badminton players remains inconclusive. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the effects of shoulder performance Kinesio taping with conventional exercises, sham taping with traditional exercises, and conventional exercises alone on upper limb performance among recreational badminton players.
Methods: Randomized controlled trial included thirty-six male participants aged 20–29 years and were randomized into three interventional groups: Group A (KT with conventional exercises), Group B (sham taping with conventional exercises), and Group C (conventional exercises only). Interventions were delivered thrice weekly for 6 weeks. Outcome measures included the push-up test (strength), Davies test (agility), and Single Arm Seated Shot-Put Test (SASSPT) for both dominant and non-dominant hands (power). Data were analyzed using repeated-measures ANOVA, with homogeneity assessed using Levene’s test.
Results: KT combined with conventional exercises, demonstrated superior improvements across outcome measures compared with other groups. However, the push-up test did not show significant between-group differences (p = 0.242). Significant within-group effects were observed for the Davies test (p < 0.001), SASSPT dominant hand (p = 0.015), and SASSPT non-dominant hand (p = 0.036).
Conclusion: While significant main effects of time were observed across all performance measures, indicating overall improvement, between-group differences were non-significant. Importantly, the critical test of interest—the time × group interaction did not reveal significant effects, suggesting that the magnitude of improvement did not differ meaningfully among CT, KT, and ST groups.