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Abstract
ObjectivePrevious studies made controversial claims about the alleged effects of Kinesio taping (KT) on pain relief. To date, the mechanism by which KT relieves pain remains unclear. Moreover, pain evaluation lacks objective and quantitative parameters. This study compared the acute effects of different KT interventions on the local thresholds of pressure pain and current perception in healthy adults to determine the potential mechanisms by which KT relieves pain.MethodsThirty healthy female subjects randomly received four KT interventions, namely, no taping (NT), placebo taping (PT), Y strips of KT (KY), and fan strips of KT (KF), on the waist. Current perception threshold (CPT), pressure pain threshold (PPT), soft tissue hardness, and the visual analog scale (VAS) scores of the subjects’ perceived pain were immediately measured after taping. Repeated-measures ANOVA was performed to determine significant differences in these parameters among the four interventions.ResultsSignificant differences in CPT values among the interventions were observed at the frequency of 5 Hz (F = 3.499, p = 0.019, ηp2 = 0.111). Post hoc analysis revealed that CPT was significantly higher for KF than for NT (p = 0.008, 95% CI = 1.390–11.990). Significant differences in PPT values (F = 4.352, p = 0.012, ηp2 = 0.130) and soft tissue hardness (F = 2.957, p = 0.049, ηp2 = 0.093) were observed among the different taping conditions. Post hoc analysis revealed that PPT was significantly higher for KF than for PT (p = 0.011, 95% CI = 0.071–0.749), and soft tissue hardness was significantly higher for KF than for NT (p = 0.010, 95% CI = 0.461–4.586) and KY (p = 0.040, 95% CI = 0.059–3.800). No significant differences in self-perceived pain among the interventions were observed.ConclusionThe healthy adult females had higher PPT values, lower soft tissue hardness, and higher CPT values at 5 Hz under KF intervention applied on the waist than those under the other taping interventions. Moreover, the different taping conditions had no significant differences in terms of VAS of perceived pain. These results provide guidance for the application of KT on pain management.
Highlights
Kinesio taping (KT) was invented by Kenso Kase in the 1970s
Post hoc test revealed that KF had significantly higher Current perception threshold (CPT) values than no taping (NT) (p = 0.008, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.390–11.990) (Figure 2 and Table 2)
Post hoc test revealed that KF had significantly higher PPT values than placebo taping (PT) (p = 0.011, 95% CI = 0.071–0.749) (Figure 2 and Table 3)
Summary
Kinesio taping (KT) was invented by Kenso Kase in the 1970s. It is a thin and ventilated waterproof elastic tape that can stretch by as much as 120%–140% of its initial length. Several systematic reviews that explored the effects of KT on patients with musculoskeletal diseases reported that KT can reduce pain intensity, especially in the short term (Mostafavifar et al, 2012; Kalron and Bar-Sela, 2013; Morris et al, 2013). Owing to the sense of stability and security generated by KT, the psychologically expected response of the subjects may increase, thereby inducing placebo effects (Mak et al, 2019; Yin and Wang, 2020). This series of processes is only a hypothesis deduced from experimentally observed phenomena. Experimental results reported in the literature are subjective, variable, and uncertain and cannot provide an objective and quantitative standard for pain assessment
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