Abstract
The presence of myofascial trigger points (MTrPs) is one of the most common causes of musculoskeletal problems and may lead to limited professional activity. Among the various treatment methods proposed for MTrPs, Kinesio Taping (KT) is a non-invasive, painless, and less time-consuming method with fewer side effects that has become widely used as a therapeutic tool in a variety of prevention and rehabilitation protocols. The aim of the study was to evaluate the immediate and short-term efficacy of the space correction KT technique in patients with latent or active MTrPs in the upper trapezius muscle. Two parallel randomized sham-controlled trials were simultaneously executed: in trial A, ninety-seven participants with latent MTrPs were randomly assigned to either the KT (n = 51) or sham (n = 46) group; in trial B, thirty-seven participants with active MTrPs were assigned to the KT (n = 20) or sham (n = 17) group. The primary outcome was pressure pain threshold (PPT) in the upper trapezius muscle, measured with algometry. Secondary outcomes included the active range of motion (ROM) of the cervical spine (lateral flexion and rotation), measured with a cervical ROM goniometer. In each trial, two-way ANOVA tests were used to compare the study effects on the outcome measures between the groups, with time serving as the intra-group factor (baseline, immediately, and 72 h after the application) and the intervention type (KT and sham) as the between-group factor. At 72 h, participants receiving KT did not show significant differences in PPT (trial A: mean difference −1.8 N; 95% CI: [−8.1, 4.4], trial B: mean difference −1.2 N; 95% CI: [−7.4, 5.1]), cervical lateral flexion (trial A: mean difference 0.2 degrees; 95% CI: [−2.7, 3.1], trial B: mean difference −2.4 degrees; 95% CI: [−8.4, 3.6]), and cervical rotation (trial A: mean difference 3.7 degrees; 95% CI: [−0.1, 7.5], trial B: mean difference 1.4 degrees; 95% CI: [−5.7, 8.4]), compared to the sham groups. Thus, the results of this study do not support the use of the space correction KT technique to treat patients with latent or active myofascial trigger points in the upper trapezius muscle.
Highlights
Www.nature.com/scientificreports be classified as active or latent[7]: the latter refers to points at which pain is triggered upon direct pressure application while persistent pain is caused by active trigger points even when manual pressure is not applied[8]
Several therapies have been proposed for myofascial trigger points (MTrPs), including Kinesio Tape (KT), a relatively new method that has become widely used as a therapeutic tool in a variety of prevention and rehabilitation protocols[20,21,22,23,24,25,26], and even very recently, in animals[27]
A total of 150 participants were recruited for this study; 16 were not allocated for randomization because they declined to participate (2) or did not meet the inclusion criteria: no MTrPs (9), musculoskeletal disorders of the neck (2), fibromyalgia (1), or prior treatment with KT (2); 134 participants with latent (97 in trial A) or active (37 in trial B) MTrPs were independently randomized
Summary
Www.nature.com/scientificreports be classified as active or latent[7]: the latter refers to points at which pain is triggered upon direct pressure application while persistent pain is caused by active trigger points even when manual pressure is not applied[8]. Several therapies have been proposed for MTrPs, including Kinesio Tape (KT), a relatively new method that has become widely used as a therapeutic tool in a variety of prevention and rehabilitation protocols[20,21,22,23,24,25,26], and even very recently, in animals[27]. It is non-invasive, painless, and less time-consuming than other options with fewer side effects. In this study we performed two parallel randomized sham-controlled trials, to compare the short-term efficacy of KT and sham KT methods on UT muscle PPT and cervical ROM in patients with latent (trial A) and active (trial B) MTrPs
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