Effect of taping techniques on pain and grip strength in patients with lateral epicondylitis

Abstract

Lateral epicondylitis (LE), is one of the most common causes of elbow and forearm pain encountered in clinical practice. Different treatment modalities have been described in the literatures, including different taping techniques. Previous studies have been investigated only the short term effects of different taping techniques on pain and grip strength in patients with LE without any complementary physical therapy program. So the purpose of this study was to investigate the long term effect of kinesio taping (KT) and diamond taping on pain and grip strength in patients with LE. Forty patients having LE of their dominant arm were randomly assigned into two equal groups. Group A received the supervised exercise program plus "Y pattern technique" KT while group B received the supervised exercise program plus "diamond taping technique. Pain intensity level at the lateral aspect of the elbow was evaluated by Visual Analogue Scale while the hand grip strength was evaluated by JAMAR dynamometer. All measurements were recorded at baseline and after four weeks intervention. Student t-test revealed that, both groups significantly improved post treatment as P = 0.001, while there was no significant difference (P>0.05) between both groups following four weeks of treatment in regarding to the measured outcomes. Athletic tape was equally effective to the KT in gaining long term benefits in LE. Both taping techniques used in the present study were equally effective in pain reduction and improving hand grip strength in patients with LE.