Effectiveness of Elastic Taping in Patients With Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: The aim of the study was to assess the effects of elastic taping on pain, physical function, range of motion, and muscle strength in patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Design: We searched the PubMed, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Web of Science, Physiotherapy Evidence Database, Scopus, EMBASE, OVID, CNKI, and WANFANG to identify relevant randomized controlled trials. The primary outcome measures were pain and physical function. The secondary outcome measures were range of motion and muscle strength.

Results: Eleven randomized controlled trials involving 490 patients with knee osteoarthritis were included. A statistically significant difference was detected in pain (standardized mean difference = -0.78, 95% confidence interval = 1.07 to -0.50, P < 0.00001), physical function (standardized mean difference = 0.73, 95% confidence interval = -1.03 to -0.43, P < 0.00001), range of motion (mean difference = 2.04, 95% confidence interval = 0.14 to 3.94, P = 0.04), and quadriceps muscle strength (mean difference = 2.42, 95% confidence interval = 1.09 to 3.74, P = 0.0004). No significant differences were found for the hamstring muscle strength.

Conclusions: Elastic taping has significant effects on pain, physical function, range of motion, and quadriceps muscle strength in patients with knee osteoarthritis. The current evidence is insufficient to draw conclusions on the effects of elastic taping combined with other physiotherapy for knee osteoarthritis. Further studies are needed to investigate the long-term effects of elastic taping combined with other physiotherapy compared with elastic taping alone for knee osteoarthritis.