Adri T. Apeldoorn, Steven J. Kamper, Joeri Kalter, Dirk L. Knol, Maurits W. van Tulder, Raymond W. Ostelo
Rehabilitation department, Noordwest Ziekenhuisgroep, NL-1815 JD Alkmaar, The Netherlands. E-mail: a.t.apeldoorn@nwz.nl

DOI: 10.2340/16501977-2214

Physiotherapy with taping was not more successful than physiotherapy alone in patients with shoulder pain

Large numbers of people suffer from shoulder pain at some stage during their life. This study investigated whether using tape as part of treatment made a difference when added to individualized physiotherapy for people with shoulder pain. The results were in some way mixed. After 6 months, patients in the physiotherapy plus taping group scored a bit worse on shoulder pain, but a bit better on their overall impression of how their shoulder was feeling, compared to the patients in the physiotherapy alone group. We concluded that the tape did not bring additional value to regular physiotherapy. Therefore, the tape technique as used in this study cannot be recommended in patients with shoulder pain.