The efficacy of kinesio taping versus forearm-band therapy in treating lateral epicondylitis: A prospective, single-blind, randomized, controlled clinical trial

Year 2022, , 223 - 228, 01.03.2022

İlknur Aykurt Karlıbel , Meliha Kasapoğlu Aksoy

https://doi.org/10.28982/josam.1063575

Abstract

Background/Aim: The treatment of lateral epicondylitis (LE) is generally conservative, but evidence for its effects is insufficient. Although Kinesio Tape (KT) and forearm bandages (FB) are applied in the treatment of LE, the results regarding the effectiveness of these two treatment methods are controversial. Moreover, to our knowledge, no study compared these two methods with each other. Our aim was to investigate the effects of Kinesio Tape (KT) and forearm bandages (FB) on pain, tenderness, grip strength, function and quality of life and to compare these two methods.
Methods: This study included 62 patients with LE diagnosis, between ages of 20 and 65. Patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups, representing KT (Group 1 = 31) and FB (Group 2 = 31), respectively. LE exercises were assigned as home programmes to both groups. Pain (VAS), the pressure pain thresholds (PPT), handgrip strength (HGS), the patient-rated tennis elbow evaluation (PRTEE), and the ‘Short Form-12’ evaluation parameters were used. Patients were evaluated at the beginning, third and sixth weeks.
Results: Significant difference was not observed between two groups in terms of demographic data and baseline evaluation parameters (P>0.05). In group 1, a significant improvement was observed across all evaluation parameters at both the third and sixth weeks, except the PPT at the sixth week (P<0.05). Meanwhile, in group 2, a significant improvement was observed across all evaluation parameters except the PPT at the third week and the SF-12 mental component at the third and sixth weeks (P<0.05). No significant difference in evaluation-parameter scores was observed between the two groups at the third and sixth weeks (P>0.05)
Conclusion: The KT and FB treatments significantly improve LE patients’ pain, handgrip strength, functions and quality of life. Moreover, neither method is superior to the other in this regard.

Keywords

Forearm band, Kinesio tape, Lateral epicondylitis, Tennis elbow, Treatment

Project Number

-

References

• 1. Walker-Bone K, Palmer KT, Reading I, Coggon D, Cooper C. Prevalence, and impact of musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limb in the general population. Arthritis Rheum. 2004;51:642–51.
• 2. Shiri R, Viikari-Juntura E, Varonen H, Heliövaara M. Prevalence and determinants of lateral and medial epicondylitis: a population study. Am J Epidemiol. 2006 Dec 1;164(11):1065-74.
• 3. Roquelaure Y, Ha C, Leclerc A, Touranchet A, Sauteron M, Melchior M, Imbernon E, Goldberg M. Epidemiologic surveillance of upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders in the working population. Arthritis Rheum. 2006 Oct 15;55(5):765-78.
• 4. Pluim BM, Staal JB, Windler GE, Jayanthi N. Tennis injuries: occurrence, aetiology, and prevention. Br J Sports Med. 2006 May;40(5):415-23.
• 5. George CE, Heales LJ, Stanton R, Wintour SA, Kean CO. Sticking to the facts: A systematic review of the effects of therapeutic tape in lateral epicondylalgia. Phys Ther Sport. 2019 Nov;40:117-27.
• 6. Fan ZJ, Silverstein BA, Bao S, Bonauto DK, Howard NL, Smith CK. The association between combination of hand force and forearm posture and incidence of lateral epicondylitis in a working population. Hum Factors. 2014 Feb;56(1):151-65.
• 7. Cho YT, Hsu WY, Lin LF, Lin YN. Kinesio taping reduces elbow pain during resisted wrist extension in patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis: a randomized, double-blinded, cross-over study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord. 2018 Jun 19;19(1):193.
• 8. Jespersen A, Amris K, Graven-Nielsen T, Arendt-Nielsen L, Bartels EM, Torp-Pedersen S, Bliddal H, Danneskiold-Samsoe B. Assessment of pressure-pain thresholds and central sensitization of pain in lateral epicondylalgia. Pain Med. 2013 Feb;14(2):297-304.
• 9. Heales LJ, Bergin MJG, Vicenzino B, Hodges PW. Forearm Muscle Activity in Lateral Epicondylalgia: A Systematic Review with Quantitative Analysis. Sports Med. 2016 Dec;46(12):1833-45.
• 10. Bisset L, Paungmali A, Vicenzino B, Beller E. A systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials on physical interventions for lateral epicondylalgia. Br J Sports Med. 2005 Jul;39(7):411-22; discussion 411-22.
• 11. Özcanyüz B, Oğur HU, Seyfettinoğlu F, Baydar M, Ozan F, Müjde S. An evaluation of treatment options for lateral epicondylitis. J Surg Med. 2020;4(12):1182-5.
• 12. Dilek B, Batmaz I, Sarıyıldız MA, Sahin E, Ilter L, Gulbahar S, Cevik R, Nas K. Kinesio taping in patients with lateral epicondylitis. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2016 Nov 21;29(4):853-8.
• 13. Bisset LM, Vicenzino B. Physiotherapy management of lateral epicondylalgia. J Physiother. 2015 Oct;61(4):174-81.
• 14. Ökmen BM, Eröksüz R, Altan L, Aksoy MK. Efficacy of peloid therapy in patients with chronic lateral epicondylitis: a randomized, controlled, single blind study. Int J Biometeorol. 2017 Nov;61(11):1965-72.
• 15. Faes M, van Elk N, de Lint JA, Degens H, Kooloos JG, Hopman MT. A dynamic extensor brace reduces electromyographic activity of wrist extensor muscles in patients with lateral epicondylalgia. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2006 Mar;36(3):170-8.
• 16. Kroslak M, Pirapakaran K, Murrell GAC. Counterforce bracing of lateral epicondylitis: a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. J Shoulder Elbow Surg. 2019 Feb;28(2):288-95.
• 17. Wuori JL, Overend TJ, Kramer JF, MacDermid J. Strength and pain measures associated with lateral epicondylitis bracing. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1998 Jul;79(7):832-7.
• 18. Meyer NJ, Pennington W, Haines B, Daley R. The effect of the forearm support band on forces at the origin of the extensor carpi radialis brevis: a cadaveric study and review of literature. J Hand Ther. 2002 Apr-Jun;15(2):179-84.
• 19. Shechtman O, Gestewitz L, Kimble C. Reliability and validity of the DynEx dynamometer. J Hand Ther. 2005 Jul-Sep;18(3):339-47.
• 20. Altan L, Ercan I, Konur S. Reliability and validity of Turkish version of the patient rated tennis elbow evaluation. Rheumatol Int. 2010 Jun;30(8):1049-54.
• 21. Ware J Jr, Kosinski M, Keller SD. A 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey: construction of scales and preliminary tests of reliability and validity. Med Care. 1996 Mar;34(3):220-33.
• 22. Bateman M, Whitby E, Kacha S, Salt E. Current physiotherapy practice in the management of tennis elbow: A service evaluation. Musculoskeletal Care. 2018 Jun;16(2):322-6.
• 23. Hamneshin Behbahani S, Arab AM, Nejad L. Systematic review: effects of using Kinesio Tape on treatment of lateral epicondylitis. Physical Treatments-Specific Physical Therapy Journal. 2014;4(3):115-22.
• 24. Goel R, Balthilaya G, Reddy R S. Effect of kinesiotaping versus athletic taping on pain and muscle performance in lateral epicondylalgia. Int J Physiother Res. 2015;3(1):839-44.
• 25. Shamsoddini A, Hollisaz MT. Effects of taping on pain, grip strength and wrist extension force in patients with tennis elbow. Trauma Mon. 2013 Sep;18(2):71-4.
• 26. Au IPH, Fan PCP, Lee WY, Leong MW, Tang OY, An WW, Cheung RT. Effects of Kinesio tape in individuals with lateral epicondylitis: A deceptive crossover trial. Physiother Theory Pract. 2017 Dec;33(12):914-9.
• 27. Kase K, Wallis J, Kase T. Clinical therapeutic applications of the kinesio taping method (2nd ed.). Tokyo, Japan: Ken Ikai Co. Ltd 2003
• 28. Shakeri H, Soleimanifar M, Arab AM, Hamneshin Behbahani S. The effects of KinesioTape on the treatment of lateral epicondylitis. J Hand Ther. 2018 Jan-Mar;31(1):35-41.
• 29. Evans-Loude J, Brigden A, Bennett E. A comparative study to determine the effectiveness of the diamond and the Mulligan taping techniques on grip strength in asymptomatic undergraduate students. The Plymouth student Journal of Health and Social Work. 2012;4:15-27.
• 30. Eraslan L, Yuce D, Erbilici A, Baltaci G. Does Kinesiotaping improve pain and functionality in patients with newly diagnosed lateral epicondylitis? Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc. 2018 Mar;26(3):938-45.
• 31. Roh YH, Gong HS, Baek GH. The Prognostic Value of Pain Sensitization in Patients with Lateral Epicondylitis. J Hand Surg Am. 2019 Mar;44(3):250.e1-250.e7.
• 32. Kachanathu SJ, Miglani S, Grover D and Zakaria AR. Forearm band versus elbow taping: as a management of lateral epicondylitis. Journal of Musculoskeletal Research. 2013;16(1):1350003(9 pages).
• 33. Altan L, Kanat E. Conservative treatment of lateral epicondylitis: comparison of two different orthotic devices. Clin Rheumatol. 2008 Aug;27(8):1015-9.
• 34. Chan HL, Ng GY. Effect of counterforce forearm bracing on wrist extensor muscles performance. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 2003 Apr;82(4):290-5.
• 35. Bisset LM, Collins NJ, Offord SS. Immediate effects of 2 types of braces on pain and grip strength in people with lateral epicondylalgia: a randomized controlled trial. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2014 Feb;44(2):120-8.
• 36. Phadke S, Desai S. Effectiveness of Kinesiotape Versus Counterforce Brace as an Adjunct to Occupational Therapy in Lateral Epicondylitis. Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy. 2017;11(2):42-6.
• 37. Sadeghi-Demneh E, Jafarian F. The immediate effects of orthoses on pain in people with lateral epicondylalgia. Pain Res Treat. 2013;2013:353597.
• 38. Bisset L, Beller E, Jull G, Brooks P, Darnell R, Vicenzino B. Mobilisation with movement and exercise, corticosteroid injection, or wait and see for tennis elbow: randomised trial. BMJ. 2006 Nov 4;333(7575):939.