Effect of Kinesiotaping and Sham Taping on Knee Function in Knee Osteoarthritis. A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background. The prevalence of knee osteoarthritis has increased significantly and continued to increase in recent decades. Different interventions are used for the treatment: therapeutic exercises, kinesiotaping and placebo. The application of these therapies remains controversial. The aim. To determine the effect of kinesiotaping and sham taping on knee function and patient’s functional mobility in knee osteoarthritis. Methods. A randomized clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05320562) was performed in one of the Lithuanian clinics. Thirty patients with osteoarthritis of the knee (age 58.1 ± 3.9 years) were randomly assigned to three groups of ten patients. Patients in the control group received therapeutic exercises; the sham taping group received therapeutic exercise and sham taping; and the kinesiotaping group received therapeutic exercises and kinesiotaping. Results. Subjects’ knee pain decreased by an average of two points after the interventions (p <0.05) in all three groups. Results of “Up and go” test improved significantly in the sham taping and kinesiotaping groups. The results of the 10-meter walking test improved significantly in the kinesiotaping group. Thigh muscle strength improved after the interventions (p <0.05) in all three groups. Knee range of motion significantly improved only in the kinesiotaping group. Conclusions. All three interventions significantly reduced subjects’ knee pain and increased thigh muscle strength, but kinesiotaping significantly improved subjects’ functional mobility. Keywords: knee osteoarthritis, kinesiotaping, therapeutic exercises, sham taping, pain.