Immediate Effects of Kinesio Taping on Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

September 3, 2026 updated by: Feray Karademir, Hacettepe University

Immediate Effects of Kinesio Taping on Symptoms, Grip Strength, and Hand Dexterity in Patients With Thoracic Outlet Syndrome

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate the immediate effects of Kinesio Taping compared with sham taping in adults with Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS). The study aims to determine whether a single application of Kinesio Taping provides greater improvements in symptom severity, grip strength, and hand dexterity than sham taping. The main questions it aims to answer are:

Does a single application of Kinesio Taping reduce symptom severity and improve tolerance to the Roos test compared with sham taping? Does a single application of Kinesio Taping improve grip strength and hand dexterity compared with sham taping? Researchers will compare participants receiving Kinesio Taping with those receiving sham taping to determine whether the observed effects are attributable to the therapeutic application of Kinesio Taping rather than nonspecific or placebo effects.

Participants will:

  • undergo baseline assessments of symptom severity during the Roos test, Roos test completion time, grip strength, and hand dexterity;
  • be randomly assigned to receive either Kinesio Taping or sham taping;
  • undergo immediate post-intervention assessments using the same outcome measures.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) is a neurovascular entrapment disorder caused by compression of the brachial plexus and/or subclavian vessels at the thoracic outlet. Patients commonly experience pain, paresthesia, weakness, and reduced upper-extremity function, leading to impaired performance in daily activities. Conservative treatment is considered the first-line approach for most patients and typically includes postural correction, therapeutic exercise, manual therapy, and activity modification.

Kinesio Taping (KT) is a non-invasive intervention that has been widely used in musculoskeletal rehabilitation to reduce pain, enhance proprioception, and improve functional performance. Previous studies have reported beneficial effects of KT in several peripheral nerve-related conditions, including carpal tunnel syndrome, lateral epicondylitis with radial nerve involvement, and peripheral neuropathies. However, evidence regarding its effectiveness in patients with TOS remains limited.

To date, only one randomized controlled trial has investigated the effects of KT in patients with TOS, demonstrating improvements in pain, paresthesia, disability, and quality of life. Nevertheless, the immediate effects of KT on objective motor performance outcomes, particularly grip strength and hand dexterity, have not been investigated. Since these outcomes are essential determinants of upper-extremity function and directly influence activities of daily living, addressing this knowledge gap may provide clinically relevant evidence for rehabilitation practice.

This randomized, sham-controlled trial is designed to investigate the immediate effects of a single KT application on symptom severity, response to the Roos test, grip strength, and hand dexterity in patients with TOS. The findings are expected to clarify whether KT produces immediate functional benefits beyond placebo effects and to provide evidence for its role as an adjunctive intervention in the conservative management of TOS.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

32

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Turkey (Türkiye)
    • Sivas
      • Merkez, Sivas, Turkey (Türkiye), 58140
        • Recruiting
        • Sivas Cumhuriyet University
        • Contact:
          • Feray Karademir
          • Phone Number: 05053137582

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Clinical diagnosis of Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) confirmed by a thoracic surgeon.
  • Presence of symptoms consistent with TOS.
  • Ability to understand the study procedures and provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • History of fracture or surgery involving the cervical spine, shoulder, elbow, wrist, or hand that could affect upper-extremity function.
  • Neurological disorders affecting upper-extremity function (e.g., stroke, multiple sclerosis, peripheral neuropathy unrelated to TOS).
  • Other upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders that may influence grip strength or hand dexterity (e.g., carpal tunnel syndrome, trigger finger, thumb carpometacarpal osteoarthritis).
  • Skin lesions, allergy to adhesive tape, or any dermatological condition preventing tape application.
  • Pregnancy.
  • Inability to perform the assessment procedures.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Sham Comparator: SHAM GROUP
Participants will receive a single application of sham taping according to a standardized protocol. Outcome measures will be assessed before and immediately after taping.
Other: sham taping- not therapeutic
A single application of sham taping will be performed according to a standardized protocol by an experienced physiotherapist.
Experimental: KT GROUP
A single application of therapeutic Kinesio Taping will be performed according to a standardized protocol by an experienced physiotherapist.
Device: Kinesio Taping
A single application of therapeutic Kinesio Taping will be performed according to a standardized protocol by an experienced physiotherapist.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Grip strength
Time Frame: Immediately before and immediately after the intervention
Grip strength will be measured using a Jamar hydraulic hand dynamometer. The change from baseline to immediately after the intervention will be compared between groups.
Immediately before and immediately after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hand dexterity
Time Frame: Baseline and immediately after taping
Hand dexterity will be assessed using the Minnesota Manual Dexterity Test. The change from baseline to immediately after the intervention will be compared between the Kinesio Taping and sham taping groups.
Baseline and immediately after taping

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Roos test
Time Frame: baseline to immediately after the intervention
The duration (seconds) participants are able to maintain the Roos test position before symptom limitation will be recorded. The change from baseline to immediately after the intervention will be compared between groups.
baseline to immediately after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Hacettepe University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: FERAY KARADEMİR, PhD, Cumhuriyet University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

October 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

December 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 3, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 3, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 6, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 8, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 3, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 24915

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

there is no plan to make individual participant data (IPD) available to other researchers.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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