Efficacy of kinesio taping on hand functioning in patients with mild carpal tunnel syndrome. A double-blind randomized controlled trial

Alessandro de Sire; Claudio Curci; Milena Ferrara; Luigi Losco; Renata Spalek; Carlo Cisari; Marco Invernizzi; Claudio Solaro

doi:10.1016/j.jht.2021.04.011

Efficacy of kinesio taping on hand functioning in patients with mild carpal tunnel syndrome. A double-blind randomized controlled trial

J Hand Ther. 2022 Oct-Dec;35(4):605-612. doi: 10.1016/j.jht.2021.04.011. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Authors

Alessandro de Sire¹, Claudio Curci², Milena Ferrara³, Luigi Losco⁴, Renata Spalek⁵, Carlo Cisari⁶, Marco Invernizzi⁷, Claudio Solaro⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Catanzaro "Magna Graecia", Catanzaro, Italy. Electronic address: alessandro.desire@unicz.it.
² Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Unit, Department of Neurosciences, ASST Carlo Poma, Mantova, Italy.
³ Hand Surgery and Rehabilitation Department, Policlinico di Monza, Novara, Italy.
⁴ Plastic Surgery Unit, Department of Translational Research and New Technologies in Medicine and Surgery, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
⁵ Rehabilitation Unit, "Mons. L. Novarese" Hospital, Moncrivello, Vercelli, Italy.
⁶ Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine, Department of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont "A. Avogadro", Novara, Italy.
⁷ Physical and Rehabilitative Medicine, Department of Health Sciences, University of Eastern Piedmont "A. Avogadro", Novara, Italy; Infrastruttura Ricerca Formazione Innovazione (IRFI), Azienda Ospedaliera SS. Antonio e Biagio e Cesare Arrigo, Alessandria, Italy.

PMID: 34256988
DOI: 10.1016/j.jht.2021.04.011

Abstract

Study design: Double-blind randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a common mononeuropathy that causes pain and disability in the affected hand. Kinesio taping (KT) has been recently proposed as a promising conservative approach in CTS patients.

Purpose of the study: To investigate the effectiveness of KT compared to a sham taping on symptoms and hand function in patients affected by mild CTS.

Methods: Patients affected by mild CTS with symptoms for at least 8 weeks were enrolled and randomly allocated into two groups: KT group, according to the technique proposed by Kase plus specific exercises; control group, undergoing a sham taping plus specific exercise. All patients performed 2 sessions/week for 5 weeks of exercises of mobilization of fingers and carpal joint. At the baseline, after 5 weeks (T1), and after 6 months (T2), a physician unaware of patients' allocation assessed the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) symptom (BCTQ-S) and functional (BCTQ-F) subscales.

Results: Forty-two patients (mean age:54.3 ± 15.0 y) were randomly allocated into KT (n = 21) and control group (n = 21). At T1, in both groups we found a significant improvement in hand function and symptoms, as showed by BCTQ-F (KT:4.2 ± 0.7 vs 3.0 ± 0.6, P < .001; sham: 2.2 ± 0.3 vs 1.7 ± 0.3, P = .012) and by BCTQ-S (KT: 2.2 ± 0.3 vs 1.7 ± 0.3, P < .001; sham: 2.3 ± 0.4 vs 1.9 ± 0.5, P = .007). At T2, only in the KT group there was a significant difference in both sub-items of primary outcome. There were significantly better results in the KT group at T1 and T2.

Discussion: The present study showed that KT compared to a sham taping might be more effective in reducing perceived symptoms in mild CTS patients, reporting a clinically significant difference.

Conclusion: KT might be considered as an effective technique combined to rehabilitative treatment in terms of hand function and symptoms in patients affected by mild CTS.

Keywords: Athletic Tape; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome; Hand; Pain; Rehabilitation.

Publication types

Randomized Controlled Trial

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Athletic Tape*
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome*
Hand
Humans
Middle Aged
Pain / etiology
Treatment Outcome
Wrist