THE EFFECTS OF KINESIO TAPE™ ON PROPRIOCEPTION AND BALANCE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH AND WITHOUT KNEE PAIN

Abstract

Context: Knee pain in the elderly has been linked to decreased function and greater fall risk. Kinesio Tape™ (KT) has been used for the treatment of pain and proposed to provide proprioceptive benefits; however, limited evidence regarding the benefits to proprioception and balance currently exist. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of KT on knee proprioception, balance, and pain in an elderly population with knee pain. Methods: A repeated-measures study was performed in the biomechanics laboratory, with the participants reporting every 72-hours, for four total data collections: 1) baseline, 2) immediately after tape application, 3) 72-hours after tape application, and 4) 72-hours after tape removal. Thirty-three participants (F: 24, M: 9; age: 63.91±18.03 years; height: 1.62±0.11 m; mass:70.65±18.45 kg), were recruited from the community. A control group (n=11) was administered KT tape, while participants with knee pain were randomly assigned to KT group (n=11) or Sham (incorrectly applied KT) group (n=11). Participants filled out the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) at the first and last data collections, and the nine question pain portion during the second and third data collections. Participants completed joint position sense (JPS) testing with open-kinetic chain (OKC) knee extensions and closed-kinetic chain (CKC) double leg squats. Ten repetitions to the demonstrated reference angle (30°) from the resting position (90°) were completed during the OKC test. Ten double-leg squat repetitions were completed to the demonstrated reference angle (30°) from the standing position (0°) for the CKC test. Knee JPS was measured via 3D motion capture and angular errors from 30° were calculated from sagittal plane angles. Berg Balance Scale (BBS) was used to assess balance function. Mixed-method ANOVA (between x within) was conducted with Bonferroni post-hoc pairwise comparisons. Results: For BBS, a significant within-subject polynomial time contrast (p=0.006) was observed. Post-hoc pairwise comparisons indicated significantly lower scores for KT (52.73±2.28, p=0.017) and Sham (53.00±2.65, p=0.036) groups compared to control (55.36±0.81) at baseline; however KT group was no longer different from control (control:55.36±1.03 vs. KT:54.45±1.75, p=0.66) at the final time point while Sham group remained significantly lower (53.18±2.14, p=0.014), demonstrating KT group’s improvement over time. No KT effects were observed with OKC-JPS (p=0.805, ηp²=0.030) and CKC-JPS (p=0.438, ηp²=0.064). Significant learning effects were seen over time only with CKC-JPS regardless of the group (p<.0001, ηp²=0.301). KOOS scores for KT and Sham groups were significantly lower from the control group at all time points. Conclusions: Berg Balance Scale improved over time when KT was applied to participants with knee pain; however, this improvement was not seen when KT was applied incorrectly (sham) to the participants with knee pain and when KT was applied correctly to participants without knee pain (control). Improvements in BBS at the final time point, 3-5 days after tape removal, may suggest the lasting effect of KT. The KT effects were not seen in JPS testing, which may be due to relatively larger variance and small sample sizes resulting in low statistical power. Research with a larger sample is warranted to further investigate the KT effects on JPS. Although there were improvements in BBS scores, greater changes in scores to achieve clinical significance, as well as significant improvements in JPS, would better support clinical use of KT on individuals with knee pain.