**1. Introduction**

Ankle sprains have been defined as the most common injury in sports [1]. Worldwide, soccer and basketball are some of the most popular sports for both participation and viewing. These athletes reported the highest injury incidence ratios [2,3]. Elite soccer players experienced between 13 and 55 injuries per 1000 competitive hours. In addition, the lower limb is most commonly affected as foot, and ankle injuries were the most prevalent diagnoses in training or competition [4]. Regarding the basketball athletes, McKay et al. reported an ankle incidence rate of 3.85 per 1000 participations,

landings being the most prevalent mechanism of injury [5]. Most cases of ankle sprain in basketball and soccer players occurred when the foot takes an over-plantar-flexed position during running or landing after a jump [6]. In addition, amateur and youth soccer players have a higher risk of su ffering a lateral ankle sprain than professional players due to an increase of strength and training experience for the professional players [7].

Functional approaches, including prophylactic methods such as taping, bandaging, or bracing of the ankle to protect the ankle ligaments have been studied, with the aim of reducing the incidence rates of ankle sprain injuries since the 1990s [8].

In the past decade, several studies have been developed to assess the e ffectiveness of ankle taping for the protection of the ankle ligaments in maximal stress situations, such as an ankle sprain [9]. Ankle taping was associated with competition, rehabilitation, and prevention sport contexts over many years. Karlsson and Andreasson reported a restricted range of motion (ROM) for the ankle joint in individuals with ankle taping but with a decrease in the peroneus muscle reaction time assessed by electromyography [10]. Taping with or without pre-wrap has also been studied, i.e., Ricard et al. reported the e ffectiveness of the ankle taping to reduce the average inversion velocity, maximum inversion velocity, and time to maximum inversion velocity, but no di fferences between individuals with or without pre-wrap were observed [11]. Pederson et al. argued that ankle taping was e ffective in the reduction of inversion movement in a study carried out in rugby players. In addition, authors have also reported that there may be a functional restriction on inversion parameters after exercise with ankle taping [12]. Callaghan reported that the inversion-eversion ROM had been limited by up to 41% as ankle taping in a non-weight bearing position presented as a restriction of the frontal plane movements [13]. Kemler et al. reported in a systematic review that elastic bandages and ankle taping were e ffective for the ankle sprain episodes [14]. Kerkho ffs et al. conducted a systematic review regarding the di fferent bandage approaches for ankle sprain situations, and they concluded that the taping method is e ffective to limit the ankle ROM. However, several complications have been observed, such as skin irritations and a longer time to return to work when compared with an elastic bandage [15]. Je ffries et al. reported that ankle taping should provide protection to the ankle joint without a ffecting the planned change-of-direction or reactive agility performance in basketball players [16].

Currently, research showed that ankle taping is often employed in elite sports in order to prevent the incidence and severity of lateral ankle sprains. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate in elite soccer and basketball players U18 the e ffectiveness of ankle taping in the reduction of ankle dorsiflexion ROM and inter-limb asymmetries throughout the training session. Thus, we assessed the ankle dorsiflexion ROM in a weight-bearing lunge position in three time-points: (1) with no-tape, (2) before the practice, and (3) immediately after the practice. Prior research concluded that the ankle taping would reduce the ankle joint dorsiflexion angle immediately after the taping. However, we hypothesized that the taping had lost the initial e ffectiveness for restricting the ankle dorsiflexion ROM at the end of the training session, as the last minutes of the training session were the period of time in which there was a high injury risk for the athletes.

#### **2. Materials and Methods**
