Comparison of Kinesio Taping and Manual Therapy With Supervised Exercise Therapy for the Treatment of Shoulder Impingement Syndrome

Abstract

Background: Shoulder Impingement Syndrome (SIS) is a major contributing factor for shoulder pain. Although many therapists use Kinesio Taping (KT) and Manual Therapy (MT) for SIS, no such studies in combination with Supervised Exercise Therapy (SET) have been conducted in the context of Saudi Arabia. Thus, the purpose of this study is to compare the effectiveness of KT and MT with SET in patients with SIS. Methods: Randomized controlled trial. Thirty-two subjects were assigned into two groups (KT with SET and MT with SET). The following outcome measures were measured at baseline, three weeks and six weeks. The outcome measurements are pain intensity by a numerical pain rating scale (NPRS), Active range of motion in the shoulder (AROM) by goniometry, and the functions of the shoulder measured through Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI). A simple descriptive statistical analysis was adopted to describe the patient-specific demographic characteristics with respect to outcome parameters. Within-group and between groups comparison were analyzed using ANOVA, and Scheffes' posthoc tests by using SPSS 21.0. Results: Sixteen subjects completed treatment in each group. No differences were identified between groups at baseline. In ANOVA, it was shown that both groups significantly (p<0.05) decreased pain intensity, improved function and increased shoulder AROM in the 3rd week, and 6th week. However, post hoc analysis results suggested that the KT, in conjunction with SET, had a higher proportion of change on 3rd week, of the pain intensity, SPADI, and AROM. Conclusion: KT with SET has been found to be more effective than the MT with SET in the 3rd week and had the same effect in the 6th week of the treatment. When an immediate effect is expected, KT may be a better choice of treatment in the management of SIS.

The clinical efficacy of kinesio taping in shoulder disorders: a systematic review and meta analysis

“…Six studies investigated the effectiveness of kinesio taping versus passive treatments, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 26 extracorporeal shock wave therapy, 27 electrotherapy modalities (TENS, hot pack, US), 38 injection, 28,35 and manual therapy. 39 It was observed that there are no significant mean differences on pain intensity by 0.29 cm (95% CI = –0.19, 0.77, P = 0.24) with moderate heterogeneity (I 2 = 73%). When exploring the effects on range of motion, only four studies 28,35,38,39 were allowed us to conduct quantitative analysis.…”

“…39 It was observed that there are no significant mean differences on pain intensity by 0.29 cm (95% CI = –0.19, 0.77, P = 0.24) with moderate heterogeneity (I 2 = 73%). When exploring the effects on range of motion, only four studies 28,35,38,39 were allowed us to conduct quantitative analysis. Two studies 28,35 compared kinesio taping with injection and a nonsignificant standard mean difference by 0.06 (95% CI = –0.09, 0.20, P = 0.46) with low heterogeneity (I 2 = 49%) was reported.…”

“…After the identification and the screening process, 16 trials 26–41 met eligibility for qualitative synthesis (Figure 1). The alphabetical list of the included studies were shown in Supplemental Appendix II.…”

“…The Physiotherapy Evidence Database Scores of included studies ranged from 4 to 9 (of a maximum score of 10), with a mean score of 5.8 (Table 1). In 12 studies, 26,28–35,37–39 Kinesio taping was utilized for treatment of shoulder impingement syndrome, and the remaining studies were on treatment of shoulder pain 36 and calcific tendinitis. 27 The characteristics of the 14 trials are included in Table 2.…”

“…The trials in this analysis included a total of 680 participants. Five of the included studies investigated kinesio taping versus sham kinesio taping, 29,32,34,36,37 where three studies 30,31,33 investigated kinesio taping combined exercise versus exercise alone, five studies kinesio taping versus passive treatments, 27,28,35,38,39 and one study compared kinesio taping to sham taping or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug 26 (Table 2).…”