gait is not a movement learned in a short time period and it is the ability to move with 
 continuous and repetitive motions while maintaining stability of the body1 . gait is the most basic and common daily 
 activity , and in ideal gait , efficiency is required to minimize fatigue , and stability to 
 prevent a fall or injury1 . for humans , 
 balance and gait ability are essential elements for daily life . the ankle joint provides the 
 propulsion for the lower limbs , absorbs impact , and provides stability of support under 
 heavy load conditions during gait . it also affects balance and performs the function of 
 keeping the body upright against gravity or maintaining posture during movement2 . in the clinical field , elastic taping is 
 applied to the ankle joints in order to maintain these functions and prevent secondary 
 injury . elastic taping restricts excessive movement of the joint and improves the 
 proprioceptive feedback mechanism , providing stability to the ankles3 . elastic taping has similar elasticity to the muscles and 
 may reduce pain by making the space between the skin and the muscles large when attached to 
 an area where peripheral nerves are pressed3 . elastic taping increases circulation of the blood , lymph , and 
 tissue fluids , improves reflexive inhibition of the golgi tendon organ , alleviates excessive 
 tension of the muscles and supports the stability of the ankle joints , all of which are 
 conducive to improvement of gait and balance ability3 . therefore , the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of 
 the application of elastic taping to the ankle joints on the gait and balance ability of 
 healthy adults . fifty healthy subjects , 20 males and 30 females , without orthopedic history of the ankle 
 joints were selected for the present study . their average age , height , and weight were 19.50  1.15  years old , 167.30  
 7.34  cm , and 62.10  10.39  kg , respectively . the research ethics committee of eulji 
 university hospital approved the study , and all participants provided their informed , 
 written consent prior to involvement in the study . the elastic taping was applied by a 
 physical therapist with five or more years of clinical experience to the tibialis anterior 
 and calf muscle of the bilateral limbs of the subjects while they sat in a comfortable 
 sitting posture . with the tibialis anterior muscle maximally extended , 5  cm elastic tape was 
 attached from the lateral part of the tibia to the initial segment of the metatarsal bone . 
 for the calf muscle , elastic tape was applied to the medial and lateral parts of the calf in 
 a straight direction starting from the achilles tendon . for balance ability , the time taken to perform a task and the movement distance from left 
 to right and from forward to backward , and balance ability score were evaluated using good 
 balance ( nce gb8300 , metitur , finland ) . for the test three consecutive measurements were taken and averaged4 . a pedometer ( gait rite , k634-db , epson inc , 
 america ) was used to collect data for quantitative gait analysis . for precise analysis of 
 the subjects gait , the 
 subjects lifted their head and looked straight forward and walked barefoot while lightly 
 shaking their upper limbs and data were collected by conducting the trial three times . step 
 length , stride length , velocity , and cadence were measured three times and averaged5 . the statistical software spss 20.0 ( spss , 
 chicago , il , usa ) was used for the statistical analysis . comparisons of variables before and 
 after the intervention were made using the paired samples t - test . after application of the ankle joint taping , gait velocity significantly increased 
 ( p<0.05 ) and all variables of balance ability significantly differed ( p<0.01 ) ( table 1table 1.comparison of the experimental group and the control group results ( n=50)taping withouttaping withgait abilitystep length of left ( cm)51.921.852.020.3step length of right ( cm)57.414.054.118.1stride length of left ( cm)110.730.9107.030.8stride length of right ( cm)112.131.3106.731.5velocity ( cm / s ) 112.819.5123.718.4cadence ( steps / min)129.140.3148.149.7balance abilityleft - right ( mm / s ) 1,095.3336.2782.6150.0anterior - posterior ( mm / s ) 693.6185.0524.7105.9time ( s ) 12.43.59.41.7balance index ( score ) 78.76.384.84.0mean sd . significant difference in gains between the groups , 
 p<0.05 ) . mean sd . this study was conducted in order to examine gait and balance ability after the application 
 of ankle joint elastic taping . both gait speed and balance ability improved . in a previous 
 study , elastic taping was applied to soccer players with ankle sprain and it increased their 
 proprioceptive senses and stability of the ankle joint , improving their muscle strength and 
 balance ability6 . karlsson and andreasson 
 taping to the ankles of 24 healthy athletes and reported their ankle joints position sense 
 increased7 . they also reported that 
 elastic taping applied to subjects with ankle sprain enhanced their muscle strength and gait 
 ability7 . their results are similar to 
 the those of the present study and it is our opinion that the application of ankle joint 
 taping increased the subjects proprioceptive senses and balance ability . in addition , the 
 tape attached to the skin stimulated diverse sensory receptors , improving the contraction 
 ability of the muscles . in gait ability , there was a significant increase in gait speed , but 
 there was no change in the other variables . the reason for the lack of changes seems to be 
 our failure to consider differences in the subjects leg lengths and their individual gait 
 characteristics . first , this study recruited 
 healthy people without lesions of the ankle joint making it difficult to generalize the 
 results to subjects with musculoskeletal system disease . second , only the immediate effect 
 of elastic taping application to the ankle joints was investigated . therefore , future 
 research should address these limitations , by increasing the number of subjects and applying 
 elastic taping for a longer period . elastic taping is a method of focusing on the muscles of 
 musculoskeletal system patients who do not need a surgery . it has almost no side effect , is 
 easy to apply , and can be utilized anywhere8 . therefore , application of elastic taping to the ankle joint muscles 
 is helpful for enhancing gait , balance ability , and muscle strength as it improves the 
 functions of the muscles and joints .
[ purpose ] this study examined the effects of the application of elastic taping over the 
 ankle joints of healthy subjects on their gait , balance ability , and muscle strength . 
 [ subjects ] fifty healthy subjects with no orthopedic history of the ankle joint were 
 selected and elastic taping was applied to their ankle joints . [ methods ] before and after 
 application of the elastic taping , gait and balance ability of the subjects were 
 evaluated . 
 [ results ] after the taping application , gait velocity significantly increased 
 and there were significant differences in all variables of balance ability . 
 [ conclusion ] 
 application of elastic taping aimed at improving stability of the ankle joint had a 
 positive effect on gait speed and balance ability .