Elastic therapeutic tape
Elastic therapeutic tape, also called kinesiologytape or kinesiology therapeutictape, Kinesiotape, , or KT is an elastic cotton strip with an acrylic adhesive that is purported to ease pain and disability from athletic injuries and a variety of other physical disorders. In individuals with chronic pain, research suggests that elastic taping may help relieve pain, but not more than other treatment approaches, and no evidence indicates that it can reduce disability in chronic pain cases.
No convincing scientific evidence indicates that such products provide any demonstrable benefit in excess of a placebo, with some declaring it a [pseudoscientific|] treatment.
History
, a Japanese–American [chiropractor|], developed the product in the1970s. The company he founded markets variants under the brand name "Kinesio" and takes legal action to prevent the word being used as a genericised trademark.A surge in popularity resulted after the product was donated to Olympic athletes in the 2008Beijing Summer Olympics and 2012London Summer Olympics. The tapes' prominence and mass introduction to the general public have been attributed to Kerri Walsh who wore the tape on her shoulder, and who along with Misty May-Treanor dominated the 2008beach volleyball event. In2012, science journalist Brian Dunning speculated on why he had not seen "a single athlete, pro beach volleyball players included, wear KinesioTape outside of the Olympics". He believes that " dollars may be entirely responsible for the popularity of KinesioTape during televised events."
Properties
The product is a type of thin, elastic cottontape that can stretch up to 140% of its original length. As a result, if the tape is applied stretched greater than its normal length, it will "recoil" after being applied and therefore create a pulling force on the skin. This elastic property allows much greater rangeof motion compared to traditional white athletictape and can also be left on for long periods before.Designed to mimic human skin, with roughly the same thickness and elastic properties, the tape can be stretched [wikt:longitudinally|]. It is a [latex-free|] material with acrylic adhesive, which is. The cotton fibers allow for evaporation and quicker drying leading to longer wear time, up to 4days. How the tape is claimed to affect the body is dependent on the location and how it is applied; the stretch direction, the shape, and the location all supposedly play a role in the tape's function.
Effectiveness
Manufacturers have made a wide variety of claims, including that it provides physical support for muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints. KTHealth's web site at one point claimed the tape "lifts the skin, decompressing the layersof fascia, allowing for greater movementof lymphatic fluid which transports white blood cells throughout the body and removes waste products, cellular debris, and bacteria". This increase in the space purportedly reduces pressure on the body's nociceptors, which detectpain, and stimulates [mechanoreceptors|], to improve overall joint [proprioception|]. Critics say these claims are not supported by evidence.In the 2012 article "Scientists sceptical as athletes get all tapedup", Reuters reported that "In a review of all the scientific research so far, published in the Sports Medicine journal in February, researchers found 'little quality evidence to support the use of Kinesiotape over other types of elastic taping in the management or prevention of sports injuries". Some researchers claim that what athletes are experiencing is just a placebo effect.
In July 2012, Steven Novella writing in Science-Based Medicine in the article "Olympic ", examined the use of KT in the larger context of "sports-related [pseudoscience|]". Novella says "The world of sports competition is rife with, false claims, dubious products, [superstitions|], and magical charms." Novella concluded that "Consumers should be very skeptical of claims made for products marketed as athletic performance enhancing."
In August 2012, science journalist Brian Dunning reports in "KinesioTape: TheEvidence" that positive studies of the tape are the result of people being deceived by a "stage magician's trick" – which he describes in detail – that is used to fool subjects into thinking strength or flexibility is being affected, when they are not. He reports that kinesiotape is claimed to be good for a plethora of issues including "painmanagement, injury treatment, injury prevention, enhanced performance, increased rangeof motion, and just about anything else an athlete might want." He concludes: "It sounds like a miracle – one simple product that does everything you can imagine. In short, a textbook snakeoil product."
A 2012 meta analysis found that the efficacy of elastic therapeutictape in painrelief was trivial, because no reviewed study found clinically important results. The tape "may have a small beneficial role in improving strength, rangeof motion in certain injured cohorts, and force sense error compared with other elastic tapes, but further studies are needed to confirm these findings".
The same article concluded: "KT had some substantial effects on muscle activity, but it was unclear whether these changes were beneficial or harmful. In conclusion, there was little quality evidence to support the use of KT over other types of elastic taping in the management or prevention of sports injuries."
A 2014 meta analysis looked at [methodological|] quality of studies, along with overall population effect, and suggested that studies of lower quality are more likely to report beneficial effects of elastic therapeutic taping, thus indicating the perceived effect of using kinesio taping is not real. It also suggested that applying elastic therapeutictape, "to facilitate muscular contraction has no, or only negligible, effects on muscle strength".
A 2015 meta analysis found that the taping provided more painrelief than no treatment at all, but was not better than other treatment approaches in patients with chronic pain. The same metaanalysis did not find any significant changes in disability as a result of taping.
In March 2018, Science-Based Medicine again examinedKT in response to its public use at the 2018Winter Olympics in the article A Miscellanyof Medical Malarkey Episode3: TheRevengening. The article reports that:
In November 2018, Science-Based Medicine described a study published the same month in the journal BMCSports Science, Medicine and which examines the of different colors of tape, as well as general of tape against a placebo. Describing the conclusions of the study, they write:
A 2023 systematic review included nine randomised controlled trials in their meta-analysis, and concluded that KT can significantly reduce painintensity between baseline and immediately post-intervention and between baseline and the period. However, no significant differences existed between KT'sability to relieve other symptoms of CNLBP—disability, trunk flexion rangeof motion, changein status, fearof movement, isometric endurance of the trunk muscles, or extension—when compared to either sham taping or KT as an adjunct to physical therapy.