The effectiveness of Kinesio Taping® for mobility and functioning improvement in knee osteoarthritis: a randomized, double-blind, controlled trial.

No no-tape group was included, so the study cannot show whether taping has an absolute effect beyond natural course or non-specific effects. The control taping was applied to the knee and may have provided competing sensory or mechanical effects, so it was not a true placebo. The paper says 187 participants were randomized, but Table 1 lists 81 subjects in the Kinesio Taping group and 76 subjects in the non-specific taping group, so the analysed group sizes are not clear. Subjective tolerance and experience data were collected by a certified Kinesio Taping practitioner who was not blinded to allocation. The taping course was four weeks and follow-up was four weeks after treatment, which is short for a chronic condition. The trial was single-center, so results may not apply to other settings. The paper states the majority had advanced knee osteoarthritis, were older, were obese, and had high comorbidity count, which may limit objective improvement. The tape brand may have affected safety and tolerance results.

Kinesio Tex Gold tapes were sponsored by the Kinesio Taping Association International. The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest, and the paper states the sponsor had no influence on the research, interpretation of data, or conclusions.

Do not conclude that Kinesio Taping alone improves knee osteoarthritis function. The trial compared it with non-specific taping, not no taping, and objective outcomes improved similarly in both groups.