The Effects of Kinesiotape on the Thickness of the Long Head of the Biceps Tendon in Athletes With Subacromial Impingement Syndrome

The tendon of the biceps long head is one of the most important causes of shoulder pain and often plays a multifactorial role in subacromial impingement syndrome. The present study aimed to determine the effect of kinesiotape application on the tendon thickness of the biceps long head, pain, and proprioception of shoulder joint in athletes with subacromial impingement syndrome.

In this quasi-experimental study, 20 male athletes with subacromial impingement syndrome were selected purposefully and conveniently. The subjects were randomly assigned to two groups: group 1 received a real kinesiotape, and group 2 received a sham kinesiotape. Tendon thickness of the biceps long head was measured by MRI, shoulder proprioception was measured by an imaging technique, and the pain was measured by visual analog scale (VAS) immediately and 24 hours after using kinesiotape. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine the normality of the distribution, and repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the mean differences between the two groups. The significance level was set at P<0.05.

There were no significant differences in the thickness of the biceps tendon between the two groups in the three stages of measurement (P=0.147). There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding the joint position sense at 45 degrees (P<0.001), but there was no significant difference at 90 degrees (P˃0.05). There was a significant difference between the pain scores of the two groups after the kinesiology tape application (P<0.001).

Kinesiotape can reduce pain and improve the proprioception sense in athletes with subacromial impingement syndrome.