Comparison of splinting and Kinesio taping in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome: a prospective randomized study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the effectiveness of splinting and Kinesio taping (KT) as forms of treatment for patients with mild to moderate idiopathic carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) by evaluating the symptoms and measuring the range of function and electrophysiological findings. This single-blind, randomized, prospective study included 44 patients (58 hands) suffering mild to moderate idiopathic CTS according to nerve conduction studies (NCS). The patients were randomized into two groups and evaluated before treatment and 6 weeks after treatment by means of physical examination findings, NCS, and the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ) functional status and symptom severity scale scores. When the differences in both groups before and after treatment were compared, a significant improvement was observed in the KT group compared to the splint group in terms of electrophysiological changes, provocative test responses, BCTQ symptom severity, and functional status scores. KT may help prevent the disease from progressing further in mild and moderate idiopathic CTS when applied in time using the appropriate technique and be a good alternative to neutral splinting in terms of patient compliance.

Keywords: Carpal tunnel syndrome; Kinesio taping; Nerve conduction studies; Splinting.