The Effects of Kinesio Taping on Reaction Time, Pain, Hand Grip Strength and Upper Extremity Functional State in Patients with Lateral Epicondylitis

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the effects of kinesio taping (KT) in addition to conventional physiotherapy methods, on visual reaction time (VRT) and auditory reaction time (ART), pain, handgrip strength (HGS), and upper extremity function in patients with lateral epicondylitis (LE).

Materials and Methods: 70 patients diagnosed with LE by a physician in a university hospital were included in the study. Patients with LE were randomly divided into “Inhibitory KT” (IKT) and “Sham KT” (SKT) groups. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) measures were made at rest (VAS-R), with movement (VAS-M), and at night (VAS-N) separately. Hubbard Scientific reaction timer for VRT-ART assessment, quick disability of the arm, shoulder, and hand questionnaire (Quick DASH) for the functional state, and Jamar hand dynamometer measurements for HGS were recorded for pre-treatment and post-treatment comparisons.

Results: In pre-treatment and post-treatment group comparison, it was found that both groups showed statistically significant recov-ery in all parameters (p<0.05). When post-treatment data of the groups were compared, it was found that VAS-M, VAS-R, VRT, and ART scores showed a statistically significant decrease in the IKT group (p<0.05).

Conclusion: The present study shows that KT application in addition to conventional physiotherapy was an effective method in LE’s conservative treatment. Statistically significant differences were found on pain, reaction time (RT) scores in favor of the IKT group when the post-treatment results of both groups were compared. 

Keywords

• handgrip strength
• lateral epicondylitis
• kinesio taping
• pain
• reng

Lateral Epikondilitli Hastalarda Kinezyo Bantlama Uygulamasının Reaksiyon Zamanı, Ağrı, El Kavrama Kuvveti ve Üst Ekstremite Fonksiyonuna Etkisi

Abstract

Amaç. Bu çalışmanın amacı lateral epikondilitli (LE) hastalarda konvansiyonel fizyoterapi yöntemlerine ek olarak uygulanan kinezyo bantlama (KB) uygulamasının görsel reaksiyon zamanı (GRZ) ve işitsel reaksiyon zamanı (İRT), ağrı, el kavrama kuvveti (EKK) ve üst ekstremite fonksiyonu üzerine olan etkilerini değerlendirmektir.

Araçlar ve Yöntem: Bir üniversite hastanesinde fiziatrist tarafından LE tanısı konulan 70 hasta çalışmaya dahil edildi. LE’li hastalar randomize olarak “inhibisyon KT” (İKB) ve “sahte KT” (SKB) gruplarına ayrıldı. Vizuel Analog Skala’da (VAS) istirahat (VAS-İ), hareket (VAS-H) ve gece (VAS-G) değerlendirmeleri ayrı ayrı yapıldı. GRZ-İRZ değerlendirmesi için Hubbard Scientific reaksiyon zamanlayıcı, fonksiyonel durum değerlendirmesi için Hızlı Kol, Omuz, El Sakatlık Ölçeği ve EKK için Jamar el dinamometresi ölçümleri tedavi öncesi ve tedavi sonrası karşılaştırmalar için kaydedildi.

Bulgular: Tedavi öncesi ve sonrası grup içi karşılaştırmada her iki grubun tüm parametrelerde istatistiksel olarak anlamlı iyileşme gösterdiği belirlendi (p<0.05). Grupların tedavi sonrası verileri karşılaştırıldığında ise VAS-H, VAS-İ, GRZ ve İRZ skorlarının İKB grubunda istatistiksel olarak anlamlı azalma gösterdiği tespit edildi (p<0.05).

Sonuç: Bu çalışmada, konvansiyonel fizyoterapiye ek olarak uygulanan KT’nin LE’nin konservatif tedavisinde etkili bir yöntem olduğunu gösterildi. Her iki grubun tedavi sonrası sonuçları karşılaştırıldığında ağrı, reaksiyon zamanı (RZ) skorlarında IKT grubu lehine istatistiksel olarak anlamlı fark bulundu.

Keywords

• ağrı
• el kavrama kuvveti
• kinezyo bantlama
• lateral epikondilit
• reaksiyon zamanı

References

1. 1. Gürçay E, Tamkan AU, Karaahmet ÖZ, Tombak Y, Güzel, Ş, Çakci A. Depression and Somatization in Refractory Lateral Epicondylitis. Arch of Rheum. 2019;34(4):367-370.
2. 2. Meyer NJ, Walter F, Haines B, Orton D, Daley RA. Modeled evidence of force reduction at the extensor carpi radialis brevis origin with the forearm support band. J Hand Surg. 2003;28(2):279-287.
3. 3. Kraushaar BS, Nirschl RP. Tendinosis of the elbow (tennis elbow). Clinical features and findings of histological, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopy studies. J Bone Joint Surg Am. 1999;81(2):259-278.
4. 4. Keus SHJ, Smidt N, Assendelft WJJ. Treatment of lateral epicondylitis in general practice: result of a survey. Eur Gen Pract. 2002;8(2):71-72.
5. 5. Chard MD, Hazleman BL. Tennis elbow-a reappraisal. Br J Rheumatol. 1989;28(3):186-190.
6. 6. Waseem M, Nuhmani S, Ram CS, Sachin Y. Lateral epicondylitis: a review of the literature. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2012;25(2):131-142.
7. 7. Kase K, Wallis J, Kase T. Clinical therapeutic applications of the kinesio taping method. 2nd ed. Tokyo, Japan: Ken Ikai Co. Ltd.; 2003.
8. 8. Kaya E, Zinnuroglu M, Tugcu I. Kinesio taping compared to physical therapy modalities for the treatment of shoulder impingement syndrome. Clin Rheumatol. 2011;30(2):201-207.

9. 9. Bunce D, MacDonald SWS, Hultsch DF. Inconsistency in serial choice decision and motor reaction times dissociate in younger and older adults. Brain Cogn. 2004;56(3):320-327.
10. 10. Ganong WF. Review of Medical Physiology. San Francisco. McGraw-Hill. 2001;49-51.
11. 11. Cai Y, Leveille SG, Hausdorff JM, et al. Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Foot Reaction Time in Older Adults. J Pain. 2021;22(1):76-85.
12. 12. Dilek B, Batmaz I, Sarıyıldız MA, et al. Kinesio taping in patients with lateral epicondylitis. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2016;29(4):853-858.
13. 13. Korthals-de Bos IB, Smidt N, Van Tulder MW, et al. Cost effectiveness of interventions for lateral epicondylitis: results from a randomised controlled trial in primary care. Pharmacoeconomics. 2004;22(3):185-195.
14. 14. Fu TC, Wong AM, Pei YC, Wu KP, Chou SW, Lin YC. Effect of Kinesio Taping on Muscle Strength in Athletes: A Pilot Study. JSAMS. 2008;11(2):198-201.
15. 15. Oldfield RC. The assessment and analysis of handedness. The Edinburgh inventory. Neuropsychologia. 1971;9(1):97-113.
16. 16. Sayegh ET, Strauch RJ. Does nonsurgical treatment improve longitudinal outcomes of lateral epicondylitis over no treatment? A meta-analysis. Clin Orthop Relat Res. 2015;473(3):1093-1107.
17. 17. Kase K, Wallis J, Kase T. Clinical therapeutic applications of the kinesio taping method. 2nd ed. Tokyo, Japan: Ken Ikai Co. Ltd.;2003.
18. 18. Hawker GA, Mian S, Kendzerska T, French M. Measures of adult pain: Visual analog scale for pain (vas pain), numeric rating scale for pain (nrs pain), McGill pain questionnaire (mpq), short‐form McGill pain questionnaire (sf‐mpq), chronic pain grade scale (cpgs), short form‐36 bodily pain scale (sf‐36 bps), and measure of intermittent and constant osteoarthritis pain (icoap). Arthritis Care Res. 2011;63(11):240-252.
19. 19. Dogan SK, Ay S, Evcik D, Baser O. Adaptation of Turkish version of the questionnaire Quick Disability of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (Quick DASH) in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. Clin Rheumatol. 2011;30(2):185-191.
20. 20. Bohannon RW, Schaubert KL. Test-retest reliability of grip-strength measures obtained over a 12-week interval from community-dwelling elders. J Hand Ther. 2005;18(4):426-427.
21. 21. Fess EE. Grip Strength, 2nd ed. Chicago: American Society of Hand Therapists;1992.
22. 22. Gavkare AM, Nanaware NL, Surdi AD. Auditory reaction time, visual reaction time and whole body reaction time in athletes. Ind Med Gaz. 2013;6:214-219.
23. 23. Senol D, Kisaoglu A, Canbolat M, et al. Are visual and auditory reaction times influenced by Ramadan fasting? Neuro performance study on healthy individuals. Ann Med Res. 2019;26(9):1751-1754.
24. 24. Waseem M, Nuhmani S, Ram CS, Sachin Y. Lateral epicondylitis: A review of the literature. J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil. 2012;25(2):131-142.
25. 25. Vicenzino B. Lateral epicondylalgia: A musculoskeletal physiotherapy perspective. Man Ther. 2003;8(2):66-79.
26. 26. Kase K, Wallis J. The latest Kinesio taping method Tokyo. Ski J. 2002;35-40.
27. 27. Thelen MD, Dauber JA, Stoneman PD. The clinical efficacy of kinesio tape for shoulder pain: a randomized, double-blinded, clinical trial. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther. 2008;38(7):389-395.
28. 28. Liu YH, Chen SM, Lin CY, Huang CI, Sun YN. Motion tracking on elbow tissue from ultrasonic image sequence for patients with lateral epicondylitis. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc, Lyon, France, 2007;95-98.
29. 29. Słupik A, Dwornik M, Białoszewski D, Zych E. Effect of Kinesio Taping on bioelectrical activity of vastus medialis muscle. Preliminary report. Ortop Traumatol Rehabil. 2007;9(6):644-651.