Determining the Immediate Effects of Counterforce Bracing Versus Kinesiotaping in Patients With Tennis Elbow (LE)

Immediate Effectiveness of Counterforce Bracing Versus Kinesiotaping During Activity: A Randomized Crossover Trial in Patients With Lateral Epicondylosis

The purpose of this study was to compare the immediate efficacy of Counterforce brace versus kinesiotaping on patients with lateral epicondylosis/tennis elbow with respect to a repetitive physical task. The investigators hypothesized that there would be difference in the outcomes with respect to interventions and activity. Patient came for one hour long Single occasion testing session and were not followed up after the testing was complete.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Tennis Elbow
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Kinesiotape; Device: Counterforce elbow brace

Detailed Description

This was a cross over randomized control trial. Thirty patients with clinical diagnosis of lateral epicondylosis/tennis elbow were recruited from a local community and were tested on single occasion (one time testing session) before and after a five minute upper extremity repetitive task first with control and then brace and kinesiotape assigned in cross-over design. The testing session was one hour long and there was no follow up of patients following the testing. The patients were recruited between Jan-June 2013.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Canada
  • Ontario
    • London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 4L6
      • The Hand and Upper Limb Centre, St. Joseph's Health Centre

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 70 years (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age (18-70 years)
2. Ability to provide written informed consent to participate
3. Were at least three weeks from onset of symptoms
4. Complaints of discomfort or pain at the lateral elbow region for a minimum of three weeks and tenderness with palpation of the lateral epicondyle
5. Provocation of lateral elbow pain with one of the following test - resisted middle finger extension, resisted wrist extension or passive stretch of wrist extensors

Exclusion Criteria:

1. History of surgery on affected elbow
2. History of cortisone injections on the affected elbow in the past 4 weeks
3. Any physical or mental limitations that precluded performance of the study testing
4. Allergy to adhesive tapes

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Kinesiotape (KT); Kinesiotape was used only on the affected side as per the manufacturer instructions. With the elbow extended, wrist fully flexed and fingers pointed down 24, KT was applied with slight stretch (10-15%) and paper off tension to the lateral arm beginning just above the bony portion of lateral epicondyle. Once the top strand was anchored, KT was applied along the side of elbow such that hole in the tape was over lateral epicondyle of the elbow. Two strands of tape followed the lateral forearm and ended at around beginning of the distal one third of forearm. Once the support was applied, KT was gently rubbed to activate the glue.	Device: Kinesiotape; Pre-cut kinesiotape for tennis elbow, spidertech.com, applied on wrist extensors starting above elbow and ending at distal one third of forearm; Other Names: elastic tape, elastic therapeutic tape, kinesiotex tape
Active Comparator: Counterforce elbow brace; The counterforce brace was approximately 5cm wide with velcro attachment for adjustable girth. It had gel pack for extra support on extensor muscle mass. With the elbow extended, brace was applied 2.5cms below the lateral epicondyle. A feeling of comfortable compression, as reported by the patients was used to adjust the brace.	Device: Counterforce elbow brace; Applied over the wrist extensor muscle mass, had velcro for adjustment, comfortable grip as reported by patient was used to adjust the brace; Other Names: elbow strap, forearm brace, forearm strap

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pain free grip strength	Pain free grip strength was recorded with J-tech medical dynamometer before and after five minutes of repetitive physical exposure with first control (no intervention) and then brace and kinesiotape assigned randomly in cross-over fashion.	initial visit

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pressure Pain Threshold	Pressure Pain Threshold was recorded with J-tech medical Algometer before and after five minutes of repetitive physical exposure with first control (no intervention) and then brace and kinesiotape assigned randomly in cross-over fashion.	initial visit

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Pain levels	Pain levels were recorded with Numeric Pain Rating scale before and after five minutes of repetitive physical exposure with first control (no intervention) and then brace and kinesiotape assigned randomly in cross-over fashion.	initial visit

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Lawson Health Research Institute
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Joy C Macdermid, PT, PhD, Western University, Canada; Principal Investigator: Pritika Gogia, MSc, Western University, Canada

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: January 1, 2013
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2013
• Study Completion (Actual): June 1, 2013

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 4, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 8, 2014
• First Posted (Estimate): September 10, 2014

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): September 10, 2014
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 8, 2014
• Last Verified: September 1, 2014

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: tennis elbow, treatment, lateral epicondylitis, immediate effects
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Muscular Diseases; Tendon Injuries; Tendinopathy; Arm Injuries; Elbow Tendinopathy; Tennis Elbow
• Other Study ID Numbers: HSREB103099