Effect of Kinesiology Taping on Pain in Individuals With Musculoskeletal Injuries: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

Kinesiology tape, an elastic tape used by sports medicine clinicians to enhance sports performance in athletes, is purported to facilitate a reduction in pain during physical activity in individuals with orthopedic injuries, but high-quality literature on this topic remains scarce. The purpose of this meta-analysis is to critically examine and review the existing literature to evaluate the effect of kinesiology tape application on pain in individuals with musculoskeletal injury. English-language publications from 2003 to 2013 were surveyed by searching SPORTDiscus, Scopus, ScienceDirect, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, PubMed, and PEDro databases using the terms kinesio tap*, kinesiology tap*, kinesiotap*, and pain. Thirteen articles investigating the effects of kinesiology tape application on pain with at least level II evidence were selected. The combined results of this meta-analysis indicate that kinesiology tape may have limited potential to reduce pain in individuals with musculoskeletal injury; however, depending on the conditions, the reduction in pain may not be clinically meaningful. Kinesiology tape application did not reduce specific pain measures related to musculoskeletal injury above and beyond other modalities compared in the context of included articles. We suggest that kinesiology tape may be used in conjunction with or in place of more traditional therapies, and further research that employs controlled measures compared with kinesiology tape is needed to evaluate efficacy.

Évaluation de la force des ischio-jambiers en contraction isométrique à l’aide d’un pèse-personne

“…Résultats La recherche bibliographique donne 18 revues systéma-tiques : 11 en anglais et 7 en espagnol. Soit un total de 5 nouvelles revues systématiques parues en un an [3][4][5][6][7] sur ce sujet. Une revue en anglais n'a pu être obtenue de manière complète et a été exclue [3].…”

“…L'objectif de ce travail était de mesurer le module d'élasticité de l'onde de cisaillement (i.e., raideur) de chaque muscle ischio-jambier (IJ) durant l'étirement grâce à une méthode d'élastographie nommée Supersonic Shear Imaging (SSI) [3]. Cette méthode permettant une analyse localisée, indolore et rapide du tissu musculo-tendineux, nous avons proposé un protocole d'étude pour chacun des muscles IJ.…”

The Most Effective Number of Elastic Taping Applications on the Muscle Activity and Maximum Peak of the Wrist Extensor Muscle in Patients with Stroke

“…In addition, the ET has been widely used for edema, muscle imbalance, and motor control associated with functional activity of patients with neurological problem such as those with stroke, as well as in rehabilitation methods (Bell and Muller, 2013;Montalvo et al, 2014).…”

“…ET has been widely used to adjust muscle contraction and relaxation, enhance movement, and decrease pain (Montalvo et al, 2014). It is believed to lead to muscle recovery in various areas of the body.…”

Adhesion of Three Brands of Elastic Therapeutic Tape

“…6 However, authors of recent systematic reviews reported little to no effect of ETT in reducing pain in individuals with musculoskeletal injury. 7,8 These inconclusive findings regarding the effectiveness of ETT are in part attributable to varying application techniques, different methods of measuring the outcomes, and different characteristics of the ETT including adhesion. 9 Even with inconsistent evidence regarding the efficacy of ETT, this treatment has been widely adopted in clinical settings 10,11 and it has become increasingly popular among professional and amateur athletes.…”