OBJECTIVE: To determine whether Mulligan ankle tape influenced the performance in subjects with unilateral chronic ankle instability (CAI) during static balance; postural sway recovery patterns after hopping and dynamic tracking balance tasks. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, within-subjects experimental study design between 4 ankle conditions (taped; untaped: injured and uninjured). PARTICIPANTS: 20 volunteer recreational athletes with unilateral CAI were recruited. Means and standard deviations highlighted the athletes' characteristics: age 23 +/- 1 years; height 173.1 +/- 2.4 cm; weight 69.3 +/- 3 kg; Functional Ankle Disability Index (FADI) 93.5 +/- 5.1% and FADI Sport 84.2 +/- 9.4%. INTERVENTIONS: Mulligan ankle taping. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Static balance (10s); postural sway recovery patterns after a 30s functional hop test (immediately, 30 and 60s); dynamic tracking balance tasks (wandering, target overshoot and reaction-time). RESULTS: Between the four conditions, static balance showed no significant differences (p = 0.792); significant changes occurred in postural sway over time (p < 0.001); no significant changes were reported for the dynamic tracking tasks. Wandering was highly correlated with reaction-time and overshooting (p < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Under resting and fatigued conditions, Mulligan ankle taping did not impact on the neuromuscular control during static and dynamic balance in subjects with healthy and unstable ankles.

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