The effect of elastic therapeutic taping on back extensor muscle endurance in patients with low back pain: a randomized, controlled, crossover trial.

STUDY DESIGN Randomized, controlled, crossover trial. OBJECTIVES To examine the effects of elastic therapeutic taping (ETT) applied to the lumbar paraspinal region on back muscle endurance (BME) compared to no tape or a rigid therapeutic taping (RTT) procedure in individuals with nonspecific low back pain. BACKGROUND Elastic therapeutic taping is an increasingly popular intervention for clinicians who treat patients with low back pain. However, no studies have investigated the effect of ETT on back extensor muscle performance in a symptomatic population. METHODS We measured BME in 16 patients (mean ± SD age, 44.8 ± 10.4 years; 44% female) with nonspecific low back pain. Back muscle endurance was measured using the Biering-Sørensen test under 3 different conditions: ETT, no tape, and RTT. For the ETT condition, the tape was applied over the paraspinal muscles according to the Kinesio Tex taping protocol. The RTT condition consisted of the same tape configuration but using nonelastic athletic tape. All participants received each testing condition in random order, with 1 to 3 days between each condition. Differences in BME between the 3 testing conditions were explored with repeated-measures analyses of variance. RESULTS There were no differences in BME between ETT and RTT, or between the RTT and no-tape conditions. The difference in BME between the ETT and no-tape conditions was statistically significant (mean difference, 20.7 seconds; 95% confidence interval: 6.8, 34.5; P = .006) but within the threshold of measurement error. CONCLUSION Back muscle endurance was higher with ETT applied over the paraspinal musculature when compared to a no-tape condition. However, the magnitude of difference did not exceed measurement error. There was no difference in BME when using elastic or rigid therapeutic tape.