Effectiveness of kinesiology tape on sports performance abilities in athletes: A systematic review
One article on PainSci cites Reneker 2018: The Dubious Science of Kinesiology Tape
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
OBJECTIVE: Establish the effectiveness of kinesiology tape (KT) on sports performance abilities compared to that of other tapes or no tape with consideration to the application methodology, timeframe, and outcome measurement. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, and PEDro databases were systematically searched. The following inclusion criteria were applied: 1) participants were healthy athletes, 2) compared any brand of dynamic KT to other types of tape (sham or therapeutic) and/or no tape, 3) measured some construct of functional sports performance, 4) involved randomization. The PEDro scale was used to grade the risk of bias. RESULTS: Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria with PEDro scores ranging from 3 to 8 of 10 points. The sports performance abilities included: ball skills; power squats; cycling; dynamic balance; jumping (vertical and horizontal); agility; sprint speed; and distance running with 193 comparisons between KT and other tapes or no tape at a variety of timeframes after application. In total, eleven comparisons demonstrated significant effects: 2 in favor of KT, 8 in favor of Mulligan's tape, and one in favor of no tape. CONCLUSION: There is a lack of compelling evidence to support the use of KT to enhance the sports performance abilities based on this review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 1a-.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Association of Lumbar MRI Findings with Current and Future Back Pain in a Population-based Cohort Study. Kasch 2022 Spine (Phila Pa 1976).
- A double-blinded randomised controlled study of the value of sequential intravenous and oral magnesium therapy in patients with chronic low back pain with a neuropathic component. Yousef 2013 Anaesthesia.
- Is Neck Posture Subgroup in Late Adolescence a Risk Factor for Persistent Neck Pain in Young Adults? A Prospective Study. Richards 2021 Phys Ther.
- Sudden amnesia resulting in pain relief: the relationship between memory and pain. Choi 2007 Pain.
- Photobiomodulation therapy is not better than placebo in patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain: a randomised placebo-controlled trial. Guimarães 2021 Pain.