Sticking to the facts: A systematic review of the effects of therapeutic tape in lateral epicondylalgia

Objective: To systematically identify, appraise, and examine evidence regarding the effects of therapeutic tape on pain and function in individuals with lateral epicondylalgia (LE). Methods: Five electronic databases were systematically searched up to March 2018. Full-text, peer-reviewed, English-language studies were included if they had an LE population, a standalone tape condition, and an outcome related to pain or function. Results: Eight out of 2022 screened studies were included. Three studies demonstrated immediate (i.e. within 1 h) improvements in pain and pain-free grip strength following diamond deloading rigid tape. One study reported immediate improvements in proprioception following transverse rigid tape. The immediate effects of longitudinal kinesiotape were inconsistent. One study reported improvements in pain and pain-free grip strength, while another study reported no effect on pain, strength, or muscle activity. Two studies examined short-term (i.e. within six weeks) kinesiotape application. One study reported two weeks of longitudinal kinesiotape improved pain and maximum grip strength. The other study reported one week of diamond kinesiotape improved patient-reported pain and function, but not maximum grip strength. Conclusions: In individuals with LE, diamond deloading rigid tape may immediately improve pain and strength. There is conflicting evidence regarding kinesiotape effects in both immediate and short-term timeframes.