Effectiveness of kinesio taping and night splinting along with physical therapy intervention on symptoms and functionality: A Double-Blind Randomized Controlled Trial for Moderate Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

Abstract

To compare the effects of kinesio taping (KT) and night splinting (NS) along with physical therapy intervention on symptoms in patients with moderate carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) undergoing rehabilitation. In this double-blind, randomized controlled trial, forty-five patients with moderate CTS were included and randomly assigned to three groups: KT Group (n = 15), NS Group (n = 15), and control group (CG) (n = 15). All patients received 20 physical therapy intervention sessions. The primary outcome was self-reported disability status measured by the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire, and secondary outcomes were pain and paresthesia (rest, activity, and night) measured by the Numeric Rating Scale. Outcomes were recorded at baseline and four weeks. All patients showed clinically meaningful improvements for all outcome measures over time (p < 0.05). The intergroup analysis revealed that the KT group demonstrated better results in all measures than the NS (p < 0.05) except for pain during activity (p = 0.054), at night (p = 0.191), and paresthesia at rest (p = 0.575). Additionally, the KT group showed better outcomes than the CG (p < 0.05) except for the activity pain (p = 0.022). However, there were negligible differences between NS and CG (p > 0.05). Kinesio taping in combination with physical therapy intervention is more effective than NS in combination with physical therapy intervention or physical therapy intervention alone and may be recommended.