Clinical effects of combining kinesio taping with water-filtered infrared-A in treating scapulohumeral periarthritis / 中华物理医学与康复杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To explore the clinical effect of combining kinesio taping with filtered infrared-A irradiation in the treatment of scapulohumeral periarthritis.Methods:Eighty-six patients with scapulohumeral periarthritis were randomly divided into a control group ( n=43) and an observation group ( n=43). Both groups received 20 minutes of irradiation with water-filtered infrared-A per day for 14 days, while the observation group was also given kinesio taping after the irradiation on 6 days of each week for the two weeks. Before and after the 2 weeks of treatment, both groups were evaluated for pain, their active and passive range of motion (AROM and PROM) of the shoulder, as well as the range of motion (ROM) of the shoulder joint, and their Constant-Murley score (CMS). The subjects also evaluated the functioning of their own shoulders using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Results:After the treatment, the average VAS scores of both groups were significantly higher than before the treatment, but the observation group′s average was significantly higher than that of the control group. There was significant improvement in the average AROM and PROM in both groups, but in the observation group the average AROM in anteflexion, rear protraction, abduction and extorsion and the average PROM in anteflexion and abduction were significantly better than the control group′s averages. The average total CMS scores of both groups had also improved significantly, but with significantly greater improvement in the observation group leading to a significant difference between the two groups after the intervention.Conclusions:Supplementing water-filtered infrared-A irradiation with kinesio taping is very effective in relieving pain, as well as improving ROM and life quality for persons with scapulohumeral periarthritis.