Taping across the upper trapezius muscle reduces activity during a standardized typing task – An assessor-blinded randomized cross-over study

Abstract

Clinically, taping is believed to alter muscle activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate: (1) whether taping across the upper trapezius (UT) muscle influenced the level of UT and lower trapezius (LT) muscle activity and the ratio of these activities (UT/LT ratio) during a static typing task; and (2) if the activity of these muscles varied with the application of tensioned taping. Forty-two healthy participants performed a 15-min typing task on three separate occasions under one of three conditions: taping applied perpendicular to the UT fibers with tension; taping without tension; and no taping. Activity of the UT and LT muscles was assessed using surface electromyography. Between conditions, significant differences were found in the change of the normalized amplitude in the UT activity (p=.027) and UT/LT ratio (p=.024) but not in the LT activity (p=.93). Compared with the no taping condition, the UT activity was less in both the tensioned taping (p=.009) and the non-tensioned taping (p=.004). There was no difference between the two taping conditions in the change of the UT (p=.91) activity and the UT/LT ratio (p=.92). In conclusion, both tensioned and non-tensioned taping across the UT muscle reduces its activity during a typing task.