Kinesiotaping Simply Explained

1. What It Is About

Kinesiotaping is a procedure in which an elastic, self-adhesive tape is applied to the skin. Unlike rigid sports tape, which is intended to limit movement, the elastic tape yields to movement and keeps the skin under tension. It is applied by trained personnel in various shapes and with different pre-tensions, often along muscle courses, over joints or on scar and oedema areas. The tape remains on the skin for the duration of the application. In the studies it is worn for varying lengths of time. Tension, direction of pull, length of the tape and number of strips differ markedly between the studies. This makes comparison difficult. Possible mechanisms of action discussed include stimuli on the skin, altered perception of body position and relief of structures. As a pure support its mechanical contribution is limited. For understanding almost all studies it is important to know what is being compared. Because an applied tape is visible, it can hardly be concealed. The usual control is therefore a sham application in which a tape without or with low tension adheres at the same site. Whether such a sham application is truly inactive is disputed: if skin contact alone has an effect, it would not be a placebo but a second form of the same stimulus.

2. What Studies Show

The body of studies is broad: 612 evaluated works, including 364 controlled human studies and 20 review articles. There are no animal trials and no cell-culture studies. The results are mixed. Some investigations report advantages, others do not. A large 2019 review of ten studies with 627 participants examined kinesiotape for chronic low-back pain. Compared with placebo tape it found no advantage in pain reduction, but did find one in disability 1. A 2015 randomised study of 60 patients with chronic non-specific low-back pain showed an advantage after 48 hours versus a control group without intervention, but not versus placebo tape 3. A 2016 placebo-controlled study of 37 patients with painful trigger points in the upper trapezius reported less pain and greater muscle strength versus sham tape for up to one month 5. A 2016 randomised, blinded study of 33 healthy adults found no differences in grip strength or muscle activity 2. A 2013 pilot study of 18 participants with knee pain combined joint manipulation and tape; it showed better values in the balance test and in knee-flexion range of motion 4. A 2019 meta-analysis of 37 randomised controlled trials found that kinesiotape can improve lower-extremity muscle strength in persons with muscle fatigue and in chronic musculoskeletal disorders, but not in persons without impairment 6. A 2023 systematic review of eight studies with 187 shoulders found mixed effects on joint position sense, with low certainty of evidence 7.

3. What Remains Unclear

Double-blinding is hardly possible because the tape cannot be concealed. Blinding usually concerns only measurement or evaluation. Whether a sham application is truly inactive is disputed. If skin contact alone has an effect, it would not be a placebo but a second form of the same stimulus. Application technique, wearing time and endpoints are inconsistent; follow-up is often short. Laboratory findings on strength or balance cannot be read as course findings. Many studies measure pain and function by questionnaire; others measure strength, jump power, balance or muscle activity in the laboratory. Both yield different magnitudes. The variety of application forms prevents results from being readily pooled. The effect versus the application itself varies in sham-controlled studies. It remains open whether kinesiotape offers advantages over other elastic tapes in specific injuries.

4. What This Means in Everyday Life

Kinesiotaping is a widely studied procedure. The studies do not present a uniform picture. Some investigations report advantages in pain, function or muscle strength; others find no difference from a sham application. The effect appears to depend on the population and the application. Anyone interested in kinesiotaping will find a method that is frequently used and whose effect versus the application itself has not yet been clarified. Further research is needed to determine for which complaints and with which application technique an advantage can be expected. This page gives no recommendation and no instructions. It summarises what studies report.

All Details with Study Numbers and Sources: detailed page on Kinesiotaping. For Children: Kinesiotaping for Children.