Effects of Neuromuscular Taping on Shoulder Pain and Function in Pitchers: A Clinical Trial

Effects of Neuromuscular Taping on Shoulder Pain and Function in Pitchers: A Clinical Trial

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Shoulder Pain
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Placebo Group; Other: Experimental Group

Detailed Description

Randomized clinical trial 2 arms

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 62
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Spain
  • Soria
    • Soria, Soria, Spain, 42004
      • Faculty of Health Sciences
      • Contact: Sandra Jiménez del Barrio, Phd; Phone Number: 975129166; Email: sandra.jimenez.barrio@uva.es

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• age over 18 years
• compete in a sport that involves overhead movement patterns
• train at least 2 hours per week
• shoulder pain lasting more than six weeks
• shoulder pain related to sports activity
• understand Spanish fluently enough to complete the questionnaire assessment.

Exclusion Criteria:

• presence of red flags that could suggest fractures, dislocations, or complete tendon ruptures, among others
• neurological pathologies
• other severe pathologies such as inflammatory arthritis, frozen shoulder
• having received corticosteroid injections or physiotherapy treatment in the last six months
• presence of previous surgeries
• pregnancy
• cognitive deficits that could limit the comprehension of the questionnaires or the physical evaluation
• skin problems that would be a contraindication for any type of bandage.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: Placebo group; The placebo group will receive the same bandage, with the same strip arrangement, but without any tension (0%) applied to any of the strips. Furthermore, participants will not receive any instructions for muscle activation during application. This placebo technique has been used in previous studies, supporting its methodological validity.	Other: Placebo Group; The placebo group will receive the same taping, with an identical arrangement of the strips, but without applying any tension (0%) to them. In addition, participants will not receive any instructions regarding muscle activation during the application. This placebo taping model has been used in previous studies, supporting its methodological validity.
Experimental: Experimental group; The experimental group will receive neuromuscular taping with kinesiology tape, consisting of two longitudinal strips applied along the lower trapezius muscle, with a tension close to 100% of the tape's elastic capacity. During application, the participant will be asked to activate the scapular depressor and retractor muscles. Additionally, two more longitudinal strips will be applied from the anterior portion of the humeral head towards the scapular spine, also with a tension close to 100%. During this application, the participant will be asked to activate the rotator cuff by applying a posteroanterior push to the humeral head.	Other: Experimental Group; The experimental group will receive a multilayer neuromuscular taping application using kinesiotape, consisting of the placement of two longitudinal strips in the direction of the lower trapezius, applied with tension close to 100% of the tape's elastic capacity. During the application, participants will be asked to activate the scapular depressor and retractor muscles. Additionally, two other longitudinal strips will be applied from the anterior portion of the humeral head toward the scapular spine, also with tension close to 100%. During this application, participants will be asked to activate the rotator cuff through a posteroanterior push of the humeral head.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Actual Pain Intensity	Pain intensity will be assessed using a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS), ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). Participants will be asked to rate the intensity of pain experienced at the time of measurement	Baseline, after 30 minutes of the intervention and 72 hours after intervencion
Pain Intensity during the arm elevation	Pain intensity will be assessed using a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS), ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). Participants will be asked to rate the intensity of pain experienced during arm elevation.	Baseline, 30 minutes after intervention and 72 hours after intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Static Scapular Position	Scapular position will be measured using an anterior/posterior scale. This static position will be recorded while standing, using a digital clinometer installed on a smartphone (Clinometer app). The inclinometer will be positioned directly over the scapular spine in the direction of the infraglenoid fossa.	Baseline, 30 minutes after intervention and 72 hours after intervention
Range of Motion	Pain-free ROM during shoulder flexion, adduction, internal rotation, and external rotation will be measured following the protocol described by Shin et al.Participants will be instructed to flex the affected arm as far as possible, keeping the thumb pointing toward the ceiling. For adduction measurement, the patient will be placed in the side-lying position, and the evaluator will manually stabilize the scapula against the patient's thorax, allowing the arm to hang horizontally in adduction. For internal and external rotation, participants will be positioned supine with the shoulder abducted to 90°, the elbow flexed to 90°, and the forearm in a neutral position. A rolled towel will be placed under the humerus to maintain shoulder alignment. Participants will be asked to rotate their arm until pain onset or until scapular movement is observed. Three attempts of each movement will be recorded, and the mean range of motion (ROM) will be used for statistical analysis.	Baseline, 30 minutes after intervention and 72 hours after intervention
Functional Capacity	Functional capacity will be assessed using the SPADI questionnaire. The SPADI is a patient-reported outcome measure designed to assess shoulder pain and functional disability. It consists of 13 items divided into two domains: pain and disability. The total score will be calculated by summing both domains and converting the result to a scale of 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate greater pain and disability.	Baseline, 30 minutes after intervention and 72 hours after intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Sandra Jiménez-del-Barrio

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): February 13, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 20, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): July 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 9, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 23, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): January 5, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): January 5, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 23, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: pain; function; shoulder; neuromuscular taping
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Musculoskeletal Diseases; Joint Diseases; Arthralgia; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Pain; Shoulder Pain
• Other Study ID Numbers: REF CEIm

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

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

Drug and device information, study documents

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