Personal belief on elastic tape and tape tension affect perceived performance, but not muscle activity and endurance

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic data of participants split by personal belief on KT.

	+ Belief (n = 20)	- Belief (n = 20)	p
Gender	8 F, 12 M	8 F, 12 M	1.00
Height (m)	1.74 ± 0.54	1.73 ± 0.67	0.86
Weight (kg)	63.5 ± 9.6	63.5 ± 9.6	0.90

Data expressed as mean ± standard deviation. Key: KT = Kinesio tape; + Belief = participants with extremely positive personal belief on KT; – Belief = participants with extremely negative personal belief on KT; M = male; F = female

Figure 1. Effect of KT tension on muscle endurance performance in participants with extremely positive (+ belief) and extremely negative personal belief on KT (- belief).

Table 2. Mean and 95% confidence intervals of dependent variables in relation to personal belief and tape tension.

Group	Condition	Muscle endurance (s)	Change in EMG (μV)	Perceived performance (0–10 VAS)
+ belief	No KT	230.0 (214.1, 245.9)	−44.6 (−49.2, −40.0)	6.7 (6.1, 7.3)
	50% tension	230.0 (212.8, 247.2)	−44.3 (−48.1, −40.5)	8.1 (7.5, 8.7)
	100% tension	228.3 (214.3, 242.3)	−44.6 (−48.8, −40.5)	8.5 (8.0, 9.1)
- belief	No KT	226.8 (202.1, 251.5)	−45.9 (−49.6, −42.3)	6.9 (6.4, 7.4)
	50% tension	228.8 (203.0, 254.5)	−46.9 (−50.8, −43.1)	6.7 (6.2, 7.3)
	100% tension	224.8 (202.6, 246.9)	−45.9 (−49.6, −42.3)	6.7 (6.2, 7.3)

KT = Kinesio tape; + Belief = participants with extremely positive personal belief on KT; – Belief = participants with extremely negative personal belief on KT; EMG = electromyography; VAS = visual analogue scale

Figure 2. Effect of KT tension on EMG activity in participants with extremely positive (+ belief) and extremely negative personal belief on KT (- belief).

Figure 3. Effect of KT tension on self-perceived performance in participants with extremely positive (+ belief) and extremely negative personal belief on KT (- belief).