Scientific basis for therapeutic information on taping
Taping for Patellofemoral Syndrome
Research
Five small, heterogeneous, randomized controlled trials were included, all with a high risk of performance bias and most with a risk of at least one other type of bias.
These included approximately 200 participants with a diagnosis of patellofemoral pain syndrome. All taping versus control comparisons (no taping or placebo taping) included one or more co-interventions for both participants in the taping and control groups. This consisted of four trials in which exercise was prescribed.
The intensity and duration of the treatments varied greatly.
For example, the duration of treatment ranged from one week in one trial to three months in another.
A meta-analysis of visual analogue scale (VAS) pain data (scale 0-10: worst pain), measured in a variety of ways from four trials (data from 161 knees), found no statistically or clinically significant differences between taping and non-taping of pain at the end of the treatment program.
Data from other outcomes measuring function and activity of daily living came from only a single trial and yielded conflicting results.
Conclusion.
The currently available evidence from trials reporting clinically relevant results is of low quality and is insufficient to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of taping, whether used alone or as part of a treatment program. More research is needed on large, preferably multicenter, high quality, well-reported randomized controlled trials that measure clinically important and long-term outcomes. Before this, there needs to be a consensus on the diagnosis of patellofemoral pain syndrome, standardization of outcome measures, and an acceptable approach to patellar taping.
Callaghan MJ, Selfe J. Patellar taping for patellofemoral pain syndrome in adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2012, Issue 4. art. No.: CD006717. doi: 10.1002 / 14651858.CD006717.pub2.
Kinesio Taping.
Kinesiotaping, but what is the evidence? There is a lot of literature about it, but I didn't refer to it much due to the small number of samples, but there was one that verified it for multiple cases even though the number of samples was small.
Study details
A review of four studies involving 164 participants.
The studies included thigh pain, low back pain, whiplash, and shoulder pain, and compared them with sham kinesio tape as a comparison.
Incidentally, the level of evidence for this study was "low quality".
Another study comparing Kinesio to other treatments was also included in the conclusion.
Conclusions
There is no evidence that Kinesio taping significantly reduces pain. There is no evidence that Kinesio taping significantly reduces pain.
There may be some benefit, but it is minimal.
The theory of kinesio taping has not been proven by these studies.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jphys.2013.12.008
How to Apply Kinesio Taping
If you've ever been an athlete, you've probably experienced taping.
What are the effects that taping has? You may have wondered, "What are the effects of taping?" Various studies have come to different conclusions.
I have also applied taping in the course of my work, but I have my doubts about its effectiveness. Here is one study that will help you answer these questions, so if you have similar problems, please refer to it.
Contents of the study
The purpose of this study was to determine if the direction of application of kinesiology tape affects the activation of the quadriceps femoris muscle.
The taping technique was compared to an outcome measure selected to assess quadriceps activation. Outcome measures included EMG, isokinetic strength, and functional hop and jump performance.
A total of 15 asymptomatic participants (10 females and 5 males) were included in the study. The mean age was 23.3 years and KinesioⓇ Tex GoldTM was applied to the predominant lower extremity of each participant using the Y-strip technique.
Two taping conditions (proximal to distal and distal to proximal) were applied to the quadriceps muscle. Participants and testers were not informed of any differences in tape conditions. Pre-test and post-test measurements included electromyographic output during isokinetic testing of quadriceps torque at 60°s -1 and 120°s -1, one-legged triple hops for distance, and vertical jumps.
The results did not reveal any evidence of any effect on muscle torque due to the direction of taping adaptation.
Dolphin M, Brooks G, Calancie B, Rufa A. Does the Direction of Kinesiology Tape Application Influence Muscle Activation in Asymptomatic Individuals? Int J Sports Phys Ther. Int J Sports Phys Ther. 2021;16(1):135-144. Published 2021 Feb 1.
Knee Exercise and Kinesio Taping
Kinesio taping may or may not be counted as complementary medicine, but have you ever done it yourself or given it to others?
If you are a taping practitioner, you may know that there seems to be a difference at the time of application, but after some time, you may not be able to tell.
What is the effect of such Kinesio taping? Here is a study that investigates the effects of Kinesio taping.
Contents of the study
The study was designed to evaluate the effects of Kinesio taping in various directions and tensions on the strength of the rectus femoris muscle and the range of motion of the knee in healthy people.
A randomized controlled trial was employed and participants were randomly assigned to two groups. One group received Kinesio taping applied from the origin to the stop, and the other group received Kinesio taping applied from the stop to the origin. In addition, the dominant limb in both groups received kinesio taping applied to the rectus femoris muscle (experimental limb), and the non-dominant limb was used as the control for the study.
Three assessments were performed on each subject at different time points (baseline, after application, and 24 hours later).
These assessments were performed at 0%, 10%, and 75% tension.
Prior to the first evaluation for each subject, the patellar tendon was subjected to continuous vibration for 20 minutes.
There were 42 participants, comprising 79% women and 21% men, with a mean age of 20.5 (SD = 4.6) and a mean body mass index of 18.7 (SD = 2.34).
There were no differences in the results of the assessment items between the groups. The study results suggest that the use of Kinesio taping in healthy individuals does not alter muscle strength or increase range of motion.
This does not apply to symptomatic patients and would need to be tested separately.
Discussion
Kinesio taping is a technique developed in Japan by Kenzo Kase in 1976 that uses an elastic tape, Kinesiotex tape, which is applied in a specific way.
Kinesio taping is also made of a different material than other tapes and has the purpose of facilitating an increase in somatosensory stimulation, promoting mechanoreceptor and intrinsic sensory input, inhibiting, activating, and adding to many other mechanical effects. According to recent literature, there have been many studies on Kinesio taping in relation to muscle strength and ROM.
In one of the systematic reviews and meta-analyses on kinesio taping and muscle strength, the authors concluded that kinesio taping does not increase muscle strength in healthy individuals and that the effect is probably independent of the taping muscle. Positive results, such as reduced time with kinesio taping, have been found to have benefits related to peak torque.
There have also been a few studies such as this one that found decreased travel time in dorsiflexion and increased peak torque in the gastrocnemius, but on the other hand did not find positive results.
It is not uncommon to find such conflicting results, but the results of no change after application are becoming more and more noticeable. Some people may be convinced that the results are different from the research results because the clinical situation is different.
I myself have had many opportunities to apply something similar to Kinesio taping, but I recognize that the benefit of taping is minimal. If anything, I was doing it for the mental benefits rather than the mechanical benefits, so I think the way it is applied should look good.
Lemos TV, Júnior JRS, Santos MGRD, Rosa MMN, Silva LGCD, Matheus JPC. Kinesio Taping effects with different directions and tensions on strength and range of motion of the knee: a randomized controlled trial. Braz J Phys Ther. 2018;22(4):283-290. doi:10.1016/j.bjpt.2018.04.001
Athletic Performance and Kinesio Taping
The study
The study aimed to investigate the immediate and short-term effects of Kinesio Tape (KT) on balance, adapted to the ankles of healthy individuals.
A total of 24 healthy men (mean age 31.8 years, range 22-40 years) were randomized into a kinesio taping or placebo group.
The kinesio taping group was given therapeutic kinesio taping that could provide ankle stability. The control group was given an application that was similar but not as effective.
Balance tests were performed before application, immediately after application, and 24 hours after application. Pre-, post-, mid-lateral, and overall stability indices (APSI, MLSI, and OSI, respectively) were measured and expressed as relative treatment effect (RTE).
There was no statistically significant interaction between intervention and time for all stability measures. The main effect was assessed and the effect over time showed significant differences in terms of RTE and mean rank at all time points for MLSI and OSI.
Kinesio taping of the ankle had an immediate positive effect.
The main effect for the group showed a significant difference in RTE levels between the intervention groups for all indices.
Based on rank averages, the kinesio taping group had better stability than the sham placebo on all indices.
How to apply the taping
Use 5 cm wide taping.
The ankle joint should be fixed at 90 degrees when taping.
Star-up
Circular
Heel lock
These methods of application seem to have produced the results that were tested.
Discussion
The reasons why the quality of the results could not be high in this study are
Blinding was difficult.
Bias due to the fact that it was applied is unavoidable. The results of this study were not of high quality because of the following reasons. There was another study that looked at improving balance by taping women's posture, and that study also found that taping was helpful in stabilizing posture. If you don't mind if it's a placebo, or if you don't care because the results are for healthy people and not for injured people, you can take the results of this study into consideration and try taping to improve your standing balance on a regular basis. It is important to note that the results of this study do not show an immediate effect, i.e. an improvement in standing balance after 24 hours. Therefore, people who can't wear taping for more than two days or people whose skin gets irritated by taping can't get this benefit.
I put it on, and it's great! If you feel the effect immediately, you cannot deny the fact that the effect is due to bias, and the provider needs to be careful.
Gök H, Örücü Atar M, Ateş C, Sonel Tur B. Does kinesiotaping affect standing balance in healthy individuals? A pilot, double-blind, randomized- controlled study. controlled study. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2019;65(4):327-334. published 22 Oct 2019. doi:10.5606/tftrd.2019.3888
Lateral Epicondylitis and Kinesio Taping
You may know it as tennis elbow, but it is also known as lateral epicondylitis (LE), which generally affects 1-3% of middle-aged people and is a common pathology of the elbow. The exact etiology remains unknown, but the most accepted theory is that it is the result of a soft tissue inflammatory response to micro tears in the extensor tendons that attach to the lateral epicondyle.
Several treatment options for LE have been proposed.
Although there is no optimal treatment, the goals are usually to manage pain, maintain motion, improve grip strength, return to normal function, and control further clinical deterioration. Recently, the use of kinesiotape (KT) has been proposed as a non-invasive treatment to restore normal function of muscles and joints, reduce pain, maintain normal tissue biomechanics, and restore tissue hemostasis.
The researchers aimed to evaluate the short-term effects of KT on pain, function, grip strength, and wrist extensor strength in patients with chronic LE.
The study
A total of 48 patients (32 females, 16 males, mean age 47.6 years, range 27-67 years) with chronic LE were
KT group (n = 27)
Sham group (n = 21)
Patients were randomly assigned to one of the following groups
Pain intensity by visual analogue scray (VAS), arm pain and function by PRTEE, grip strength by hand dynamometer, and wrist extensor strength by isokinetic device were assessed before and after treatment. KT was followed by a 5-day intervention and this procedure was repeated three times.
It was observed that the pain and functional levels of chronic LE patients improved significantly in both the KT and sham groups, but there was no significant difference between the groups.
Conclusion.
This study found that both KT and regular taping provided similar improvements in pain relief via arm function in chronic LE patients.
If there are any clinical limitations to this study, they are
The small sample size may have led to an underestimation of the evaluation.
The long-term effects are unknown because the taping was discontinued at the end of the intervention period.
The long-term effects are unknown.
Tezel N, Can A, Karaahmet Ö, Gürçay E. The effects of kinesiotaping on wrist extensor strength using an isokinetic device in patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis: A randomized-controlled trial. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. Turk J Phys Med Rehabil. 2020;66(1):60-66. Published 2020 Mar 3. doi:10.5606/tftrd.2020.3298
