A comparison of rigid tape and exercise, elastic tape and exercise and exercise alone on pain and lower limb function in individuals with exercise related leg pain: a randomised controlled trial

Abstract

BackgroundExercise related leg pain (ERLP) is a common lower limb overuse injury characterised by pain located between the knee and ankle that occurs during activity. The high incidence of the condition, subsequent interference with participation in physical activity and substantial recovery time, highlights a need for effective interventions. Whilst many interventions have been described for the management of ERLP, currently there is a lack of high quality evidence for an effective intervention for the condition.Methods/DesignA single-blinded randomised controlled clinical trial will be conducted in a community setting. Forty-five female volunteers aged between 18 and 40 years with a history of insidious onset of pain located between the knee and ankle of at least one month duration that is aggravated by weight bearing activities will be recruited for the study. Suitable participants will be randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups for the 6 week intervention period: (i) exercise only, (ii) rigid anti-pronation tape and exercise, (iii) elastic anti-pronation tape and exercise. Outcomes will be measured at baseline, 1, 2 and 6 weeks using primary outcome measures of usual and worst pain visual analogue scale and global perceived improvement. Secondary outcome measures will include Foot and Ankle Ability Measure, Patient Specific Functional Scale and amount of activity in the previous week. In addition, participants will be contacted by phone to obtain primary and secondary outcome measures at 12, 18, 24 and 30 weeks.DiscussionThis article describes a single-blinded randomised controlled clinical trial that will utilise high quality methodologies in accordance with CONSORT guidelines. The results of this study will contribute to the limited knowledge regarding effective interventions for the management of ERLP.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12613000914763)Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2474-15-328) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The effectiveness of taping on children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review

“…Also, no study compared the effects of elastic and inelastic tapes for similar aims to reveal the more effective type of tape in the population with CP, whereas such comparisons have been made in other populations in the literature. 19,20 The studies investigating the effects of taping in orthopaedic conditions had specific regions/muscles that were taped, [21][22][23][24] but the authors could not always focus on a specific region in neurological conditions since the whole body was affected. Taping was applied to multiple regions of the body such as the lower limb and trunk.…”

“…Although Footer stated that children with ataxic or athetoid CP could constitute a more appropriate population for inelastic tape, there was no significant change in GMFM as the outcome measure. Also, no study compared the effects of elastic and inelastic tapes for similar aims to reveal the more effective type of tape in the population with CP, whereas such comparisons have been made in other populations in the literature …”

Measures of Foot Pain, Foot Function, and General Foot Health

“…The FAAM has been used as an outcome measure in clinical trials of ankle injuries , plantar heel pain , taping for exercise‐related leg pain , and edema in patients with ankle/hindfoot fractures .…”

Adhesive elastic tape modifies forefoot motion in young women with flatfoot

“…the link between these clinical conditions and excessive foot motion highlights the need for interventions to minimise the risk of injury. In this context, there are several therapeutic options, including insoles [19], therapeutic exercises [20] and therapeutic tape [21]. the most extensively studied tapes are the rigid and elastic ones.…”

“…On the other hand, elastic tape, also known as Kinesio tape, Kinesiology tape, or Neuromuscular tape, may offer less restriction of foot movement, provide mechanical support, and be more comfortable [21,24]. However, its effects on foot motion remain unclear [14,25].…”