Effects of Kinesio® Tape in low back muscle fatigue

Muscle fatigue of the trunk extensor musculature plays a substantial role in chronic low back pain (LBP). The underlying physiology of fatigue is complicated and not completely understood. The Kinesio® Taping (KT) supports damaged structures while allowing mobility and at the same time may influence some of the mechanisms associated with muscle fatigue such as blood flow and proprioception. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of KT on the resistance to fatigue of the lumbar extensor musculature in a sample of young healthy subjects. A randomized, controlled, doubled-blinded clinical trial was conducted. Ninety nine healthy subjects were placed at random into one of the three arms of the study Kinesio® Tape (KT), placebo (P) and control (C). Directly following application of KT they measured lumbar extensor musculature endurance with the Biering-Sorensen test. Subjects and researchers were blinded to the intervention. Time achieved (seconds) was compared between groups with one-way ANOVA with confidence intervals of 95%. There were significant differences between the time achieved in the KT group versus the control group (p < 0.05). The placebo group performed better than the control group but worse than the KT group, these were not significant in either case.

 

KT seems to improve the time to failure of the extensor muscle of the trunk obtained using the Biering-Sorensen test. These findings indicate that KT affects processes that lead to muscle fatigue and that KT could be effective in the management of LBP.