Does Kinesio Taping reduce disability, pain, and kinesiophobia in people with chronic non-specific low back pain? Randomised trial, with concealed allocation, assessor blinding, and intention-to-treat analysis. Sixty adults with chronic non-specific low back pain. The experimental intervention was Kinesio Taping over the lumbar spine for one week; the control intervention was sham taping. The following outcomes were measured at baseline, immediately after the week with the tape in situ, and four weeks later: Oswestry Disability Index, Roland- Morris Low Back Pain and Disability Questionnaire, pain on a 10-cm visual analogue scale, Tampa kinesiophobia scale, trunk flexion range of motion, and the McQuade test of trunk muscle endurance. At one week, the experimental group had significantly greater improvement in disability, by 4 points (95% CI 2 to 6) on the Oswestry score and by 1.2 points (95% CI 0.4 to 2.0) on the Roland-Morris score. However, these effects were not significant four weeks later. The experimental group also had a greater decrease in pain than the control group immediately after treatment (mean between-group difference 1.1cm, 95% CI 0.3 to 1.9), which was maintained four weeks later (1.0cm, 95% CI 0.2 to 1.7). Similarly trunk muscle endurance was significantly better at one week (by 23 sec, 95% CI 14 to 32) and four weeks later (by 18 sec, 95% CI 9 to 26). Other outcomes were not significantly affected. Kinesio Taping reduced disability and pain in people with chronic non-specific low back pain, but these effects may be too small to be clinically worthwhile. ACTRN12612000402842.

Objective: To compare the benefits of initiating rehabilitation treatment within 24 hours versus 48–72 hours after total knee arthroplasty for osteoarthritis.

Phantom limb pain is reported in 50%–85% of people with amputation. Clinical interventions in treating central pain, such as mirror therapy, motor imagery, or virtual visual feedback, could redound in benefits to amputee patients with phantom limb pain. To provide an overview of the effectiveness of different techniques for treating phantom limb pain in amputee patients. Systematic review. A computerized literature search up to April 2017 was performed using the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PEDro, EBSCOhost, and Cochrane Plus. Methodological quality and internal validity score of each study were assessed using PEDro scale. For data synthesis, qualitative methods from the Cochrane Back Review Group were applied. In all, 12 studies met our inclusion criteria, where 9 were rated as low methodological quality and 3 rated moderate quality. All studies showed a significant reduction in pain, but there was heterogeneity among subjects and methodologies and any high-quality clinical trial (PEDro score ≤8; internal validity score ≤5) was not found. Mirror therapy, motor imaginary, and virtual visual feedback reduce phantom limb pain; however, there is limited scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness. Future studies should include designs with more solid research methods, exploring short- and long-term benefits of these therapies. This systematic review investigates the effectiveness of mirror therapy, motor imagery, and virtual visual feedback on phantom limb pain, summarizing the currently published trials and evaluating the research quality. Although these interventions have positive benefits in phantom limb pain, there is still a lack of evidence for supporting their effectiveness.

Study Design: Randomized clinical trial. Objective: To compare the effectiveness of cervical spine thrust manipulation to that of Kinesio Taping applied to the neck in individuals with mechanical neck pain, using self-reported pain and disability and cervical range of motion as measures. Background: The effectiveness of cervical manipulation has received considerable attention in the literature. However, because some patients cannot tolerate cervical thrust manipulation, alternative therapeutic options should be investigated. Methods: Eighty patients (36 women) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: the manipulation group, which received 2 cervical thrust manipulations, and the tape group, which received Kinesio Taping applied to the neck. Neck pain (11-point numeric pain rating scale), disability (Neck Disability Index), and cervical-range-of-motion data were collected at baseline and 1 week after the intervention by an assessor blinded to the treatment allocation of the patients. Mixed-model analyses of variance were used to examine the effects of the treatment on each outcome variable, with group as the between-subjects variable and time as the within-subjects variable. The primary analysis was the group-by-time interaction. Results: No significant group-by-time interactions were found for pain (F = 1.892, P = .447) or disability (F = 0.115, P = .736). The group-by-time interaction was statistically significant for right (F = 7.317, P = .008) and left (F = 9.525, P = .003) cervical rotation range of motion, with the patients who received the cervical thrust manipulation having experienced greater improvement in cervical rotation than those treated with Kinesio Tape (P<.01). No significant group-by-time interactions were found for cervical spine range of motion for flexion (F = 0.944, P = .334), extension (F = 0.122, P = .728), and right (F = 0.220, P = .650) and left (F = 0.389, P = .535) lateral flexion. Conclusion: Patients with mechanical neck pain who received cervical thrust manipulation or Kinesio Taping exhibited similar reductions in neck pain intensity and disability and similar changes in active cervical range of motion, except for rotation. Changes in neck pain surpassed the minimal clinically important difference, whereas changes in disability did not. Changes in cervical range of motion were small and not clinically meaningful. Because we did not include a control or placebo group in this study, we cannot rule out a placebo effect or natural changes over time as potential reasons for the improvements measured in both groups. Level of Evidence: Therapy, level 1b. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2012;42(8):724–730, Epub 20 April 2012. doi:10.2519/jospt.2012.4086

Background. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic demyelinating neurological disease. Several studies have reported that complementary and alternative therapies can have positive effects against pain in these patients.Objective. The objective was to investigate the effectiveness of an Ai-Chi aquatic exercise program against pain and other symptoms in MS patients.Methods. In this randomized controlled trial, 73 MS patients were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group for a 20-week treatment program. The experimental group underwent 40 sessions of Ai-Chi exercise in swimming pool and the control group 40 sessions of abdominal breathing and contraction-relaxation exercises in therapy room. Outcome variables were pain, disability, spasm, depression, fatigue, and autonomy, which were assessed before the intervention and immediately and at 4 and 10 weeks after the last treatment session.Results. The experimental group showed a significant (P<0.028) and clinically relevant decrease in pain intensityversusbaseline, with an immediate posttreatment reduction in median visual analogue scale scores of 50% that was maintained for up to 10 weeks. Significant improvements were also observed in spasm, fatigue, disability, and autonomy.Conclusion. According to these findings, an Ai-Chi aquatic exercise program improves pain, spasms, disability, fatigue, depression, and autonomy in MS patients.

Objective: To determine the effect of myofascial release techniques on pain symptoms, postural stability and physical function in fibromyalgia syndrome.