Kinesio taping may represent a new conservative therapy for some carpal tunnel patients

Kinesio taping is frequently used by athletes for inflammation, pain relief, and to support and stimulate muscles. New research suggests that it may also hold therapeutic benefits for those with mild to moderate carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a neuromuscular disorder involving compression of the median nerve in the wrist. Existing studies note a CTS incidence rate of 4–5%. The condition affects women more commonly than men, and individuals aged 40–60 are especially prone to developing the condition, according to a 2020 literature review.

While more severe cases may be treated via surgery, treatments for mild to moderate CTS commonly include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications and various physical therapies such as cold laser therapy, splints, and ultrasound.

In a study appearing in Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences, a multi-institutional team of researchers in Taiwan has investigated the feasibility of Kinesio taping as a treatment for mild to moderate CTS.

Repetitive hand movements are a common contributor to CTS. Other risk factors include genetic heredity, obesity, pregnancy, and rheumatoid inflammation.

Symptoms of CTS vary in intensity and may include dysesthesia (unusual sensations under the skin), numbness, pain, and atrophy of the hand muscles. Severe cases can include paresthesia (tingling or the feeling of pins and needles), weakened grip, and atrophy of the thumb muscles, and may interfere with normal hand function.

Kinesio tape, which is thin and stretchy, gently lifts skin to relieve pressure in affected areas, increasing blood flow and stimulating muscle contraction to promote pain relief. Studies have shown that it can help with symptom relief in mild to moderate CTS.

However, “The efficacy of Kinesio tape in reducing pain, increasing strength, and providing sensory stimulation is inconsistent across studies,” state the researchers. “Thus, this study aimed to investigate the effects of the Kinesio taping on pain intensity, disability levels, hand grip strength, and electroneurographic parameters in individuals with mild to moderate CTS.”

The researchers selected 27 study participants, aged 18–65, with physicians’ diagnoses of mild-to-moderate CTS that had lasted at least three months. Excluded from the group were those with severe CTS, atrophied palm muscles, a history of wrist surgery, and steroid injection within a year prior to the study.

Thirteen of the 27 participants had CTS affecting both hands, and in those cases, each hand was considered separately and randomly assigned to either the control group or the Kinesio taping group.

Twice a week for six weeks, the control group received typical conservative therapies including cold laser treatment, heat, TENS (transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation), and ultrasound.

In addition to these therapies, the Kinesio taping group received Kinesio taping twice a week for six weeks, with the tape left in place for two days each time. The researchers used the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire, known for its reliability, to assess the disability and severity levels of the participants’ hands.

At the end of the trial, both groups showed improvements in daily functional movement, hand grip strength, pain intensity, and the severity of their symptoms. An assessment of nerve conduction velocity showed that motor amplitude also improved noticeably in both groups.

Interestingly, the control group showed larger improvements than the Kinesio taping group in motor distal latency, sensory amplitude, and sensory conductive velocity.

The researchers acknowledge several study limitations, including a lack of post-treatment evaluation to measure the duration of improvements. Also missing was a placebo tape application in the control group to mimic the effects of Kinesio tape.

Moreover, crossover participants might have experienced difficulty in separating the effects of differing treatments on their hands and this might have caused bias in symptoms and symptom severity they reported. Future research should address and control for these limitations.

However, the researchers conclude, “The study demonstrated that both conservative physical therapy and Kinesio taping were effective in improving pain intensity, hand grip strength, electrophysiological performance, and hand function in people with CTS after a short-term intervention.

“The combination of Kinesio tape and conservative physical therapy resulted in significantly greater improvements in hand grip strength and sensory conduction velocity compared to conservative therapy alone, while conservative therapy was more effective in improving motor distal latency.

“These findings suggest that Kinesio tape may be a complementary treatment for short-term improvement in pain, handgrip strength, and conduction velocity in CTS.”

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