Dae-Young, K., & Byoung-Do, S., (2012). Immediate effect of quadriceps kinesio taping on the anaerobic muscle power and anaerobic threshold of healthy college students. Journal of Physical Therapy & Science 24 (9) 919-923.
This study looked at the effect of taping the quadriceps in 30 healthy college students and the effect that the tape had on anaerobic muscle power (AMP) and anaerobic threshold (AT) tests. The participants were non-athletic healthy individuals and they had their quadriceps taped with three pieces of tape- along the rectus femoris, the VL and the VM, with all three pieces of tape finishing below the knee (rec fem tape split around patella). The description of the methodology is not easy to follow, however it appears that the participants were initially tested for AMP and AT without tape (1 week apart) and then tested 2 weeks later for AMP with tape and then a week later AT with tape. The AMP test was performed on an ergometer bike and the AT test was performed on a treadmill.
The results of this study showed that the participants had significant improvements in the AMP test, with mean power and peak power increasing with tape in situ (measured in Watts) and therefore the mean and peak power/kg also increased. In the AT test there was no significant change to the respiratory scores or time taken to reach AT, even though those measures tended to increase. However interestingly the participants scored lower with regard to their Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) with the tape in situ. The authors suggest that they may have found differences in muscle function that other studies have not due to the more functional tests involving whole muscle groups/kinetic chains rather than just isolating one muscle on an isokinetic machine that does not reflect real function, and perhaps that they taped three muscles of the quadriceps rather than just Rec Fem.
https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jpts/24/9/24_919/_article