Clinical Notes 6 Colour DOES MATTER: Mechanical

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the properties of KinesioTex®, ATex, Mueller, 3M and ThaiTape Their ... i Daniel Weiss Taping: Selbsthilfe bei Muskelschmerzen und anderen Beschwerden.
Clinical Notes 6 Colour DOES MATTER: Mechanical properties of elastic therapeutic tape do differ and could possibly confound outcomes. Short History Sending a Letter to the Editor of the International Journal of Physiotherapy Volume: 3 Issue:6 Month: December (2016) reacting to the following article about taping called EFFECT OF KINESIO TAPING AND SOFT ORTHOSIS APPLICATION ON THE PAIN AND FUNCTIONAL DISABILITY IN LUMBAR REGION PATHOLOGIES WITHOUT NEUROLOGICAL DEFICITS: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED EXPERIMENTAL STUDY, has proven a challenge. My first request to publish a reaction to the article named above was sent on 7th January, my last request on the 14th of July. I have sent an email reclaiming this document as I am now publishing it here through the clinical Notes Series. CONTENT LETTER TO THE EDITOR NB. Very small changes to the original article have been made here correcting spelling, one error & adding one missing word. An article describing the effect of Kinesio taping and soft orthosis application on the pain and functional disability in lumbar region pathologies without neurological deficits: a Randomized Controlled Experimental Study was published in the December journal. I congratulate the authors for their great job and for having had the insight to look at all both Kinesio taping and orthotic treatment. The authors have chosen to compare these treatments added to a standard procedure. A wise decision as in the many trails and studies using placebo taping, results have been confounding. Any tape application; with or without stretch, another brand, another tape type or using another location could have a therapeutic effect. One sentence caught my attention. I would like to suggest that the authors were most probably not aware of the fact that every tape and every colour of a tape brand has different mechanical properties. For at least two decades, allied health professionals have been using tape in a number of ways and many (including manufacturers) have claimed that colour makes no difference. There are also manyiii, claiming different colours have specific ‘influence’ on the human body. The authors of this article published in your December issue suggested that the different colours have no physical nor chemical difference and therefor the patients (in group II) could freely choose from 4 colours. A number of studies however have proven that this is not as suggested. Research into colour has been conducted looking at the differences of maximal load, tension, deformation and relative stiffness. Aguado Jodar X et aliii were the first to describe the mechanical property of various rigid and elastic tape brands. (Estrappal BSN Medical, Tensoplast Sport BS, Kinesio Tapes black, blue & red). Conclusion: the different colours of the Kinesio tapes were associated with different mechanical behaviours. The same authorsiv published another paper on the subject in 2010. In this study the brands researched were Cure Tape (black, blue, red & pink, Sports Tex (black, blue & red), Kinsiotape (blue & red) and Kinesiology Tape (blue & red). Conclusions were that: The large variability found in the mechanical behaviour of the different tapes leads us to recommend the utilization of the same brand and colour for a given purpose. Primin F & Timo Gv studied the effects of stretch on Aktimed Tape in the colours blue and pink. These "strong" colours (pink ‘to stimulate’ and blue ‘to calm’) were measured and compared and a difference in elasticity was found. Chuanpis Boonkerd, & Weerawat Limroongreungratvi looked at the properties of KinesioTex®, ATex, Mueller, 3M and ThaiTape Their conclusion was that: Five elastic therapeutic tapes exhibited different material properties in stress, extensity and Young’s modulus.

Matheus J.P.C. et alvii compared 2 specimens of (Kinesio Tex Gold® Kinesio Tex Gold - FP®, Kinesio Sport®, Rock Tape® & Premium Kinesiology 3 NS Tex® tape. The aim of their study was to evaluate and compare the mechanical properties of five different brands of elastic tapes employed in the clinical practice and therapeutic procedures. Their findings demonstrated significant differences between brands regarding traction and adherence mechanics. Knowing the mechanical properties of the elastic tapes may be essential to achieve the intended therapeutic objectives. Implications of the results of these studies should be that we endeavour to always name the tape brand and colour in every study into the effects of Elastic Therapeutic Tape. The patient should not be allowed to choose the tape’s colour. One brand and colour should be used. The various brands and colours make for extra variables and makes comparing and re-producing studies more challenging.

Esther de Ru PT, OMT, PPT,ETT instructor

January 2017

ADDITIONAL COMMENT

October 2017

In the mean time I recommend reading Mel Peddle’s blog called: WHAT IS ELASTIC THERAPEUTIC TAPE? http://www.bodymybody.com/?s=kinesio+taping. This former engineer and massage therapist shares her research on the material. She chose seven different brands and applied them to various parts of her body and subjected the tape and her body to a variety of tasks. She chose Kinesio Tex Gold, Rock Tape and Spider Tech KT Tape Pro and CVS Health, Theraband, Mueller (white athletic tape). She aims to write more on the subject after more testing. TAKE HOME MESSAGE    

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Significant differences between brands and colour have been established in a number of studies. Knowing the mechanical properties of the elastic tapes may be essential to achieve the intended therapeutic objectives. The patient should not be allowed to choose the tape’s colour. In some cases the therapist might decide to use a specific colour. Use one brand and colour if possible (after test patching).

Daniel Weiss Taping: Selbsthilfe bei Muskelschmerzen und anderen Beschwerden http://kintasio.de/kinesiotape/kinesio-tape-farben-bedeutung/ iii Aguado Jodar X, Alegre Duran LM, Abian Vicen J, Carcelan Cobo R, Fernandez Rodriguez JM 2008 Mechanical behaviour of functional tape: implications for functional taping preparation. 13th Annual Congress of the ECSS Estorial, Portugal 2008 iv Fernandez Rodrıgueza JM, Alegre Duran LM, Abian Vicen J, Carcelen Coboc R, Aguado Jodar X. 2010 Vendaje neuromuscular: ¿tienen todas las vendas las mismas propiedades mecanicas? v Pirmin F. & Timo G. 2014 Materialeigenschaften des Kinesio Tape http://wiki.ifstud.de/fm/quant_fometh/ws13_projekte/qfm02 vi Chuanpis Boonkerd, Weerawat Limroongreungrat 2016 Elastic Therapeutic Tape: do they have the same material properties? J. Phys. Ther. Sci. 28: 1303–1306, 2016 vii Matheus, J.P.C., Zille, R.R., Gomide, L.B., Lemos, T.V., Carregaro, R.L., Shimano, A.C., 2016 Comparison of the mechanical properties of therapeutic elastic tapes used in sports and clinical practice, Physical Therapy in Sports (2016), doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2016.08.014. ii