Kinesiotaping for Acute Pain Due to Uncomplicated Traumatic Injury of the Shoulder or Chest Wall

Traumatic injuries of the shoulder or chest wall are commonly treated in the Emergency Department (ED). A complementary treatment is kinesiotaping, an elastic tape often used to treat musculoskeletal dysfunction and pain. However, the added pain-reducing effect of kinesiotape in comparison to standard conservative treatment is unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of kinesiotaping on pain relief compared to standard treatment with pain medication and immobilization in patients with uncomplicated traumatic injury of the shoulder or chest wall in the ED.

A pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) was conducted in the ED of a teaching hospital in the Netherlands from January 2021 until the end of March 2021. Patients diagnosed with uncomplicated isolated rib fractures, rib contusions, clavicle fracture, disruption of the AC joint and fracture of the proximal humerus were assigned to two treatment groups. The control group received the standard treatment with oral analgesics (acetaminophen q6h 1000 mg and NSAID (according to prescription) and if shoulder injury also a sling. The intervention group received kinesiotaping in addition to the same standard treatment. Pain intensity was measured with 0-10 Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) just before treatment (T1) and after 15 min (T2). On day 4 both groups were assessed with NRS in a follow up phone call (T3).

A total of 251 patients presented with traumatic injury of the shoulder or chest wall in the study period, 85 patients were approached to participate and 2 of them were excluded. The remaining 83 were randomly allocated to kinesiotaping (n = 40) or control group (n = 43), 57 of them completed the study and had sufficient data for complete analysis In both groups, pain intensity after 15 min and 4 days significantly reduced compared with baseline. Regarding the reduction of pain intensity on day 4, kinesiotaping was significantly superior compared to the control group with a difference in pain reduction of 2.45 compared with 0.88 in control group (p = 0.018).

Compared to standard treatment alone, kinesiotaping combined with standard care appears to be more effective in terms of acute pain reduction in patients with uncomplicated traumatic injury of the shoulder or chest wall. Further research is recommended.