Immediate effects of forearm elastic and nonelastic taping on wrist flexor muscle and grip strength of normal adults.
Hyun-Gyu Cha, Myoung-Kwon Kim, Young-Jun Shin
PMID 27821932WHAT IT FOUND
Elastic forearm tape produced larger immediate grip and wrist flexor strength gains than nonelastic tape in healthy adults.
It did not test injured people, pain, or daily hand tasks, so this is not evidence of a treatment benefit.
Key findings
01The paper reported greater gains in grip and wrist flexor strength with elastic taping than with nonelastic taping.
02Grip strength gains were 46.8 ± 8.7 kg with elastic taping and 42.5 ± 6.7 kg with nonelastic taping.
03Wrist flexor strength gains were 29.8 ± 7.0 N with elastic taping and 26.6 ± 6.4 N with nonelastic taping.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The participants were healthy adults with no history of orthopedic disorders, so the results do not show what happens in patients with wrist or hand problems. The study measured only immediate maximal grip and wrist flexor strength, not pain, function, or performance of daily hand tasks. The supplied text does not report how participants were assigned to tape groups, whether participants or testers were blinded, or the order of conditions. The supplied text does not report baseline strength values or the number of participants in each tape group. The paper does not report a follow-up period, so any lasting effect is unknown.
Declared interests
The supplied text does not report funding or conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that elastic forearm tape treats wrist pain or improves hand function. The study measured only immediate strength gains in healthy adults, and it did not report patient symptoms, functional tasks, or follow-up.