Efficacy Of Kinesio Taping In Treatment Of Subacrom Ial Impingement Syndrome: A Meta-Analysis

PURPOSE: Kinesio taping is an elastic therapeutic tape used for treating sports injuries and various other disorders. A meta-analysis approach was used to synthesize all related evidence on the clinical effectiveness of kinesio taping for the treatment of subacromial impingement syndrome(SIS). METHODS: A literature search was performed using 8 major databases. Randomized clinical trials reporting usage of kinesio taping for subacromial impingement syndrome have been included. Quality and risk of bias were assessed using the Cochrane Collaboration’s quality assessment tool. Meta-analysis was conducted to calculate standardized mean differences and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI). The corresponding 95% CI of pooled effect size were calculated using a fixed-effects or random-effects model based on the level of heterogeneity. RESULTS: This systematic review and meta-analysis included 11 studies, with a total of 539 participants. Pairwise comparisons inferred that kinesio taping only showed significant improvement of shoulder pain when combined with placebo(SMD = 0.61; 95% CI:0.35 to 0.88; P < 0.00001). However, injection produce better results than KT in ROM(SMD = 0.1 9; 95% CI:0.01 to 0.36; P = 0.03). CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence to support the use of kinesio taping is better than other treatments for SIS. However, there is limited evidence of its benefit as a complementary treatment in subacromial impingement syndrome.