We aimed to clarify the immediate effect of an elastic taping application on the kinematics of soccer instep kicking. Fourteen male university recreational soccer players performed maximal instep kicking with and without an elastic taping applied to the rectus femoris muscle, and their kicking motions were captured using a motion capture system at 500Hz. Prior to the kicking session, the thickness of the rectus femoris muscle was measured using an ultrasound scanner. The elastic taping application significantly increased the thickness of the rectus femoris muscle. Alongside this change, initial ball velocity, peak hip flexion angular velocity, and foot linear velocities increased significantly, whereas knee extension angular velocity and hip linear velocity did not change. It is considered that the elastic taping application may enhance the function of the rectus femoris muscle, thereby inducing these kinematic changes during kicking. These findings suggested that an elastic taping application may be an effective tool to improve the performance of soccer instep kicking.
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