Acute Effects of Kinesiotaping on Electromyographic Activity of Scapular Stabilizer Muscles in Bodybuilders with Various Types of Scapular Dyskinesis

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

1 Department of Sports Injury and Biomechanics, Faculty of Sport Sciences and Health, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

2 Independent Researcher, Exercise Physiology, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Background and Aim: Scapular dyskinesis is a functional disorder of the shoulder girdle characterized by abnormal movement patterns and impaired neuromuscular control of the scapular stabilizing muscles. In bodybuilders, this disorder leads to muscle imbalances and poor scapular function due to repetitive movements with heavy weights. The aim of this study was to investigate the immediate effects of kinesio taping on the electromyographic activity of scapular stabilizing muscles in male bodybuilders with type one, two, and three dyskinesia.
Methods: The study participants were 36 male bodybuilders (mean age: 25.13 years) diagnosed with type I, II, and III scapular dyskinesis. They were non-randomly assigned to three equal groups of 12 participants each. Electromyographic (EMG) activity of the upper trapezius (UT), middle trapezius (MT), lower trapezius (LT), and serratus anterior (SA) muscles was measured during dynamic planks with an elastic band and rowing exercises combined with shoulder external rotation, both before and after the kinesio taping intervention. EMG signals were normalized to the maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC). The kinesio taping intervention was applied according to the method of Toth et al. Post-test data were analyzed using two-way mixed ANOVA.
Results: In both dynamic plank and boat movements, kinesiotaping led to a significant reduction in upper trapezius muscle activity across all three types of dyskinesia (P<0.05). In all three dyskinesia groups, the activity of the middle and lower trapezius muscles significantly increased in both movements (P<0.05). The response of the anterior serratus muscle was heterogeneous and showed a significant increase in activity only under certain conditions. In the intergroup comparison of boat movement, the group with type 1 dyskinesia showed higher activity in the UT muscle and lower activity in the LT muscle compared to type 2 (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Kinesio taping was able to immediately improve the scapular stabilizer muscle activity pattern in all three types of dyskinesia by reducing the activity of overactive muscles and facilitating inhibited muscles. However, limited effectiveness was observed in the anterior temporalis muscle, indicating the need for designing specific and tailored tapering for this muscle.

Keywords

Journal of Military Medicine
Volume 27, Issue 3 - Serial Number 133
September and October 2025
Pages 2881-2889

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics