In severely dependent patients with limb oedema, kinesiology tape stretched to 25% reduced skin and fat-layer stiffness more than the same tape applied flat, with effects lasting 16 days. This shows the stretch matters, not that tape beats no treatment.
At day 9, the 25%-tension group had a lower dermis elastic coefficient by 12.57 kPa (95% CI 4.97 to 20.16, p = 0.001) and a lower adipose-layer coefficient by 5.29 kPa (95% CI 2.20 to 8.38, p < 0.001) compared with the 0%-tension group, meaning less oedematous tissue stiffness.
At the 16-day follow-up, the between-group differences in both dermis (95% CI 4.12 to 18.73, p = 0.002) and adipose-layer (95% CI 1.33 to 7.25, p = 0.005) elastic coefficients were maintained.
Limb circumference was 2.18 cm lower in the 25%-tension group at day 9 (95% CI 0.79 to 3.56, p < 0.001) and the difference was maintained at day 16 (95% CI 1.44 to 3.83, p < 0.001).
Single-blind randomized controlled trial. Sixty-four participants were randomized across two intervention arms and assessed at twelve weeks for the primary outcome…
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