[Efficacy of kinesiotape treatment on mechanically induced neck pain: a systematic review].

Background: This article provides a summary of the state of knowledge on the sport-specific use of a kinesiotape intervention for neck pain caused by the postural or sitting position in cycling. This review summarises the research literature on the effectiveness of kinesiotape (KTA) on pain perception, pressure pain threshold (PPT) and range of motion (ROM) in the neck muscles and trapezius muscle. The focus was specifically on studies in cycling.

Methods: The literature search was conducted in the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. The search terms used in combination were "kinesiotape" and "back pain", "neck pain", "kinesiotape" and "trapezius muscle", and "kinesiotape" and "cycling".

Results: In total, the combination of keywords returned 892 results. Of these, the Powered by Editorial Manager and ProduXion Manager from Aries Systems Corporation search in the online database of PubMed returned 192 results and the search in the online database of Google Scholar returned 700 results. 874 publications were discarded due to a lack of specificity and a field of application that did not meet the requirements. Three additional studies were eliminated as "duplicate". Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria. These were analysed in terms of content and in detail. Only one publication deals with the problem of mechanically induced neck pain during cycling. The effect of the kinesiotape refers to a reduction in pain perception and maintenance of the cervical range of motion.

Conclusion: Numerous studies deal with the problem of pain conditions and how these can be counteracted with the help of an appropriate KTA. Only a small number offer insights into the effectiveness of a suitable application of kinesiotape for mechanically induced neck pain.