Introduction: Climbing is an increasingly popular sport. Among other factors, the strength and endurance of the finger flexors are important for success in this sport. One of the assumptions of using elastic adhesive tapes is to influence the strength and endurance of the muscles. Purpose: To find out whether the placement of elastic adhesive tapes on the belly of the fingers flexor muscles, using different techniques, affects muscle strength and endurance. Methods: Twenty-seven recreational climbers participated in the research. In an interval of one week, they were tested in random order under different conditions of application of elastic adhesive tapes (facilitation technique, inhibition technique, no tapes). During testing maximal grip strength, maximal pinch grip strength, static endurance, dynamic endurance and rate of perceived exertion were measured. Results: The results show no statistically significant differences between the different application techniques of elastic adhesive tapes when measuring maximal grip force, maximal pinch grip force, static and dynamic endurance of the finger flexors. We did not prove a connection between the ability of climbers and the effect of elastic adhesive tapes on the maximum strength of the finger flexors and the endurance of the finger flexors. Discussion and conclusion: Different techniques of elastic adhesive tapes application do not affect muscle strength and endurance of finger flexors in recreational climbers. No correlation was found between the effect of different application techniques of elastic adhesive tape and the climber's ability.
|
