Immediate and short-term effects of kinesiotaping and lower extremity stretching on pain and disability in individuals with plantar fasciitis: a pilot randomized, controlled trial

Comparison of the effectiveness of peloid therapy and kinesiotaping in patients with unilateral plantar fasciitis: A prospective, randomized controlled study

Objectives

This study aimed to compare the efficacy of peloid therapy and kinesiotaping for unilateral plantar fasciitis (PF).

Patients and methods

In the randomized controlled study, a total of 114 patients (89 females, 25 males; mean age: 45.1±8.3 years; range, 27 to 65 years) diagnosed with unilateral PF between January 2021 and March 2023 were randomly divided into three equal groups: the peloid group (peloid therapy and home-based exercise + heel pad), the kinesiotaping group (kinesiotaping and home-based exercise + heel pad), and the control group (home-based exercise + heel pad). Peloid therapy was performed over two weeks for a total of 10 sessions. Kinesiotaping was applied four times over two weeks. Plantar fascia, calf, and Achilles stretching exercises and foot strengthening exercises were performed, and prefabricated silicone heel insoles were used daily for six weeks. Patients were evaluated three times with clinical assessment scales for pain, the Heel Tenderness Index, and the Foot and Ankle Outcome Score before treatment, at the end of treatment, and in the first month after treatment.

Results

Statistically significant improvements were observed for all parameters at the end of treatment and in the first month after treatment compared to the baseline in every group (p<0.001). No superiority was found between the groups.

Conclusion

Peloid therapy or kinesiotaping, given as adjuncts to home-based exercise therapy and shoe insoles in patients with unilateral PF, did not result in additional benefits.

Effects on pain of kinesiology tape in patients with plantar fasciitis: a randomized controlled study

PURPOSE.

Plantar fasciitis is the most frequent cause of heel pain. Custom-made plantar supports are a common treatment solution, while the application of kinesiology tape (KT) can be an effective measure to alleviate pain. The objective was to evaluate the effects of KT on the pain of patients with plantar fasciitis.

METHODS.

Randomized controlled trial including participants with plantar fasciitis. There was an experimental group (n = 17), whose participants underwent a KT treatment, and a control (sham tape) group (n = 17). The pain, measured with a visual analog scale (VAS), was the primary outcome and was assessed daily until the fifth day of wearing the tape and 24 h after removing it. Inferential statistics looked for time, group, and time per group differences with CI at 95%.

RESULTS.

The greatest between-group VAS difference was 3.5 points, and occurred at the 2-day follow-up assessment. Then, pain differences decreased over time until the last assessment point. Statistically significant time, group, and time*group differences were found with p < 0.001.

CONCLUSION.

This study supports that KT is effective in reducing pain in the short term in patients with plantar fasciitis, and more effective than a sham intervention with tape.

Heel Pain - Plantar Fasciitis: Revision 2023

The Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has an ongoing effort to create evidence-based practice guidelines for orthopaedic physical therapy management of patients with musculoskeletal impairments described in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). The purpose of these revised clinical practice guidelines is to review recent peer-reviewed literature and make recommendations related to nonarthritic heel pain. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2023;53(12):CPG1-CPG39. doi:10.2519/jospt.2023.0303.

Effects of therapeutic interventions on pain due to plantar fasciitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To determine the effects of different therapeutic interventions that have ever been evaluated in randomized controlled trials on pain due to plantar fasciitis.

METHODS

We searched different electronic databases until September 2022. Mean differences (MDs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation was used to evaluate the overall certainty evidence.

RESULTS

A total of 236 studies met the study criteria, including 15,401 patients. Botulinum toxin MD -2.14 (CI: -4.15, -0.14), micronized dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane injection MD -3.31 (CI: -5.54, -1.08), dry needling MD -2.34 (CI: -4.64, -0.04), low-dye taping MD -3.60 (CI: -4.16, -3.03), low-level laser therapy MD -2.09 (CI: -2.28, -1.90), myofascial releases MD -1.79 (CI: -2.63, -0.94), platelet-rich plasma MD -2.40 (CI: -4.16, -0.63), radiofrequency MD -2.47 (CI: -4.65, -0.29), and stretching MD -1.14 (CI: -2.02, -0.26) resulted in being effective treatments for pain when compared to the control in the short term. In the medium and long term, only extracorporeal shock wave therapy MD -0.97 (CI: -1.13, -0.81)/MD -2.49 (CI: -3.17, -1.82) was effective for improving pain when compared to the control.

CONCLUSIONS

Considering the available studies, this systematic review and meta-analysis showed that different therapeutic interventions seem to be useful strategies for improving pain in patients with plantar fasciitis. In the medium and long term, only extracorporeal shock wave therapy was effective in improving pain when compared to the control.

Immediate Effects of Combining Kinesio Tape with Voice Therapy in Patients with Muscle Tension Dysphonia

INTRODUCTION

The present study investigated the immediate effect of adding Kinesio taping along with voice therapy for the treatment of muscle tension dysphonia patients.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Twenty patients with primary muscle tension dysphonia (MTD) (12 males and 8 females) with a mean age of 36.95 ± 9.58 years participated in the study. Participants were assigned to two groups: one group (6 males and 4 females) received only traditional voice therapy (VT) and the other group (6 males and 4 females) received Kinesio taping (KT) and voice therapy (VT). The VT group received laryngeal manual therapy (LMT) (for 15 minutes) and voice therapy techniques including humming, chewing, and yawn-sigh (for 15 minutes). The VT + KT group received both KT and the same VT as the first group. KT was applied to the sternocleidomastoid, infralaryngeal, and supralaryngeal muscles of the neck. Auditory-perceptual assessments using CAPE-V, acoustic voice analysis, and assessments of vocal tract discomfort and pain were used to evaluate the effects of a single treatment session. The Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for data analysis.

RESULTS

The results of within-group comparison of the auditory-perceptual assessment (overall severity, roughness, breathiness, and strain) in both sustained vowels and connected speech tasks showed a significant reduction in all mentioned items in both groups (P < 0.05). Acoustic voice analysis showed significant improvement of HNR in the KT + VT group for both sustained vowels and connected speech tasks, and significant improvement of jitter in the VT group for sustained vowels (P < 0.05). Regarding vocal tract discomfort, the symptom of tightness in the KT + VT group, irritability and pain in the VT group, and the overall score of vocal tract discomfort in both groups, significantly decreased (P < 0.05). A significant decrease in pain severity in the front of the neck, throat, and larynx was reported by MTD patients in both groups (P < 0.05). Between-group comparisons indicated a significant difference only in the pain item of the VTD scale (P < 0.05) with greater pain decrease for the VT group. Comparison of the mean of differences showed that the VT group reduced irritability more than the KT + VT group (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The present study showed that voice therapy with and without Kinesio taping can improve patients' voice quality (auditory-perceptual and acoustic voice analysis) and reduce vocal tract discomfort and pain in MTD patients after one therapy session. Moreover, MTD patients treated with KT + VT did not experience more significant improvements compared to those treated with VT alone. More studies in this area are recommended to better determine the effects of KT in MTD patients especially for long term effects of KT.

Comparison of the efficacy of Kinesiology Taping versus Therapeutic Ultrasound in the management of Plantar Fasciitis

Plantar fasciitis (PF) is one of the most common musculoskeletal complain of the foot affecting a huge population. However there is a scarcity of evidence regarding treatment efficacy, therefore this trial aimed to compare the efficacy of Kinesiotaping (KT) vs. Ultrasound Therapy (UT) in the management of pain and physical functioning of foot/ankle in patients with PF. Methodology: Two arms, parallel-group design RCT was conducted on PF patients. Participants aged between 25-60 years, having symptoms of PF for at least 6 months, presenting with unilat-eral and/or bilateral heel pain were included. However, patients with fractures, dislocations, or open wounds around ankle/soles and patients allergic to taping were excluded. 30 patients were randomly divided into group A (KTG=15): received KT and group B (UTG=15): received Ultra-sound Therapy (UT). Both the groups also received cold pack with stretching exercises. Treat-ment was provided on an alternate days for 30 minutes to each group for two weeks. Visual An-alogue Scale (VAS) was used to determine pain and Foot/Ankle disability index (FADI) was used to assess foot and ankle functioning. Readings were taken pre and post intervention. Results and discussion: The mean pain score before treatment was 8.00 but after treatment was reduced to 1.13, in KTG. However, in UTG mean pain score before treatment was 9.13 and after treatment reduced to 4.20. The mean FADI score before treatment was 52.80 but after treatment decreased to 11.46 in KTG. However, in UTG the mean score of FADI before treatment was 58.53 and after treatment, it was decreased to 39.46. Conclusion: The results concluded that KT and UT both are effective techniques for reducing pa-in and improving ankle/foot physical functioning in patients with PF. However, KT was found to be more effective than UT. Keywords: Foot/ankle disability index, Plantar Fasciitis, Pain, Kinesiotaping, Therapeutic ultrasound