Comparison of the Short-Term Outcomes after Postisometric Muscle Relaxation or Kinesio Taping Application for Normalization of the Upper Trapezius Muscle Tone and the Pain Relief: A Preliminary Study

Kuba Ptaszkowski; Lucyna Slupska; Małgorzata Paprocka-Borowicz; Anna Kołcz-Trzęsicka; Kamil Zwierzchowski; Urszula Halska; Monika Przestrzelska; Dariusz Mucha; Joanna Rosińczuk

doi:10.1155/2015/721938

Comparison of the Short-Term Outcomes after Postisometric Muscle Relaxation or Kinesio Taping Application for Normalization of the Upper Trapezius Muscle Tone and the Pain Relief: A Preliminary Study

Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2015:2015:721938. doi: 10.1155/2015/721938. Epub 2015 Aug 12.

Authors

Kuba Ptaszkowski¹, Lucyna Slupska², Małgorzata Paprocka-Borowicz², Anna Kołcz-Trzęsicka³, Kamil Zwierzchowski⁴, Urszula Halska⁴, Monika Przestrzelska¹, Dariusz Mucha⁵, Joanna Rosińczuk⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Obstetrics, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, K. Bartla 5, 51-618 Wroclaw, Poland.
² Department of Clinical Biomechanics and Physiotherapy in Motor System Disorders, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Grunwaldzka 2, 50-355 Wroclaw, Poland.
³ Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, Grunwaldzka 2, 50-355 Wroclaw, Poland.
⁴ Department of Physiotherapy, Opole Medical School, Katowicka 68, 45-060 Opole, Poland.
⁵ Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academy School of Physical Education in Cracow, Aleja Jana Pawła II 78, 31-571 Kraków, Poland.
⁶ Department of Nervous System Diseases, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, K. Bartla 5, 51-618 Wroclaw, Poland.

Abstract

The main purpose of the study was to evaluate the resting bioelectrical activity of the upper trapezius muscle (the UT muscle) before and after one of the two interventions: postisometric muscle relaxation (PIR) and Kinesio Taping (KT). Moreover a comparison between group results was conducted. From the initial 61 volunteers, 52 were selected after exclusion criteria and were allocated randomly to 2 groups: PIR group and KT group. Outcome measures were assessed at baseline and completion of the intervention. The primary outcome measure was change in bioelectrical activity of UT muscle evaluated by surface electromyography (sEMG). Secondary outcomes included subjective assessment of pain using visual analogue scale (VAS). Significant differences were found only in KT group: the average resting bioelectrical activity decreased by 0.8 μV (p = 0.0237) and the average VAS result reduced by 2.0 points (p = 0.0001). Greater decrease of VAS results was recorded in KT group compared to PIR group (p = 0.0010). Both PIR and KT intervention did not influence significantly the resting bioelectrical activity of UT muscle. KT application was better for pain relief in the studied sample compared with PIR intervention.