Kinesiotaping in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome

Effects of Kinesiotaping in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment: a Randomized Controlled Trial

Objective: Kinesiotaping (KT) is a relatively new technique, which reduces the pressure on the median nerve by extending the transverse carpal ligament. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of KT on Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in a randomized, placebo-controlled manner.

Methods: Patients were randomly divided into three groups: Group 1 (KT plus tendon and nerve gliding exercises), Group 2 (sham-taping plus exercises) and Group 3 (exercises alone, control group). KT was applied 3 times with 5-day intervals throughout the study, with "neural technique" for median and ulnar nerves and "area correction technique" for carpal tunnel releasing. In the placebo group kinesiotapes were applied without stretching and proper position. Hand grip strength, VAS, Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire (BCTQ), and Short Form-12 (SF-12) were measured as outcome parameters at the first visit, 3rd and 6th week.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS)
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Kinesiotape; Other: Exercise; Device: sham taping

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 60
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Trabzon, Turkey
    • Karadeniz Technical University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• clicical diagnosis of mild and moderate CTS
• having the CTS symptoms for at least 6 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

• electrophysiological diagnosis of severe CTS,
• thenar atrophy,
• local corticosteroid injection or KT application or physical therapy treatment for CTS within the last 3 months,
• patients with secondary metabolic causes for CTS (such as diabetes mellitus, pregnancy, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, thyroid disease),
• patients with other conditions that may cause neck and arm pain (cervical disc hernia, arthritis, epicondylitis, rotator cuff syndrome),
• a history of fracture in the wrist,
• previous CTS surgery.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

3

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Kinesiotaping plus tendon and nerve gliding exercises; Kinesiotaping was applied 3 times with 5-day intervals	Device: Kinesiotape; Kinesiotape, when applied with a specific method and tension, significantly reduces the pressure on the median nerve by extending the transverse carpal ligament. It regulates edema under the skin and improves lymphatic and blood circulation. It reduces muscle spasms, eases the movement of tendons and fascia, and reduces pain through neurological suppression; Other: Exercise; Tendon and nerve gliding exercise
Sham Comparator: Sham taping plus tendon and nerve gliding exercises; Sham taping was applied 3 times with 5-day intervals without stretching and without having the proper position.	Other: Exercise; Tendon and nerve gliding exercise; Device: sham taping; In the sham taping group, kinesiotape was applied with two I bands without stretching and without having the proper position. This group was considered as the placebo group.
Other: tendon and nerve gliding exercises alone; The control group received exercise therapy only	Other: Exercise; Tendon and nerve gliding exercise

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
pain level	pain level was assessed using visual analog scale.The minimum and maximum values were 0 and 10, and higher scores mean a better outcome.	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 3 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Boston Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Questionnaire (BCTQ)	The BCTQ is a disease specific questionnaire to evaluate the symptom severity and functional capacity. High scores indicate increased symtom severity and low functional capacity	From enrollment to the end of treatment at 6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Karadeniz Technical University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Geler Kulcu D, Bursali C, Aktas I, Bozkurt Alp S, Unlu Ozkan F, Akpinar P. Kinesiotaping as an alternative treatment method for carpal tunnel syndrome. Turk J Med Sci. 2016 Jun 23;46(4):1042-9. doi: 10.3906/sag-1503-4.
• Giray E, Karali-Bingul D, Akyuz G. The Effectiveness of Kinesiotaping, Sham Taping or Exercises Only in Lateral Epicondylitis Treatment: A Randomized Controlled Study. PM R. 2019 Jul;11(7):681-693. doi: 10.1002/pmrj.12067. Epub 2019 Mar 28.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): July 1, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 28, 2022
• Study Completion (Actual): February 28, 2022

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 21, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 25, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): November 29, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): November 29, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 25, 2024
• Last Verified: November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: carpal tunnel syndrome; Kinesiotaping; Sham taping
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Nervous System Diseases; Wounds and Injuries; Pathologic Processes; Neuromuscular Diseases; Peripheral Nervous System Diseases; Disease; Median Neuropathy; Mononeuropathies; Nerve Compression Syndromes; Cumulative Trauma Disorders; Sprains and Strains; Syndrome; Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2020/38

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No