Kinesiology tape for arthritis

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Kinesiology tape (also kinesio tape or KT) was first was first suggested to me a few years ago by a friend who thought it might help my recalcitrant shoulder.

The box of KT Tape she handed me claimed it could fix everything. Bad knee? Injured ankle? Sore shoulder? Back? Neck? Hands? Kinesiology tape can help! Of course, the asterisk warns you that only some of these uses have been found effective in studies. Which ones? Who knows.

I used it on my shoulder for awhile because I was out of other options. I’d experienced physical therapy, braces, medicines, x-rays, MRIs, ultrasounds – nothing helped and doctors couldn’t tell me why. (I found out later there was arthritis, bursitis, and a calcified tendon, and probably old muscle damage. Whoops.) After trying applying it in many different ways, though, I realized that the kinesiology tape wasn’t very helpful for my shoulder pain.

In the end, the roll of kinesiology tape ended up in my drawer of medical supplies. That’s where I found it a couple months ago when I was looking for my (still-missing) knee brace, and I thought, why not try it? I’m very glad that I did.

To my surprise, it worked much better for my knee than for my shoulder. My knee had been hurting with every step I took, but soon I could walk normally again. And without drugs! But as I’ve seen, kinesiology tape doesn’t work for everything, so I’m going to share my own experience and also a little of what studies have shown.

What is kinesiology tape?

Kinesiology tape is stretchy, adhesive fabric that is claimed to provide better healing and support for injuries and pain. Some medical professionals dismiss claims that kinesiology tape is helpful, since it can easily be overused and overcredited. Recent studies, however, have shown that kinesiology tape can be useful in certain applications (and not useful in others). So while all the claims on the box may not be true, kinesiology tape has been proven to help some kinds of pain and swelling, and a lot of research is still ongoing as more people are using it.

It’s easy to buy (Target, Walgreens, etc.), and once you learn how, it’s easy to apply. I personally use KT Tape, and it’s worked well. It’s also much more comfortable than wearing a brace. Unfortunately, buying it often can get costly, and it peels off surprisingly easy in some locations. That being said, I’ll continue to use it for my knee, because it works wonders and is worth it.

Where is kinesiology tape most useful?

Unfortunately, more of the focus of research with kinesiology tape has gone into its uses for injuries, especially related to sports. In the brief research I did, it was hard to find what I was looking for, although there may be more info with deeper digging.

Some of the stronger evidence seems to be for using it with knee arthritis , including reducing pain and swelling. I’ve been using it on and off for my knees since I fell and made them angry. For me, it’s been incredibly useful for treating the pain in a way that doesn’t involve NSAIDs.

There’s also some evidence for using kinesiology tape with shoulder pain from tendonitis and rotator cuff-related problems, which may or may not be applicable to someone with AS. It certainly didn’t help my specific location of tendonitis in the shoulder, but mine was a strange case and I was applying it rather non-specifically.

Specific to autoimmune arthritis, kinesiology tape has been studied for use in the hands of people with rheumatoid arthritis, and researchers found that people had better muscle strength and function after use.

I also tried it on my back recently when I was out of other pain relief options, and it seemed to help. Was it the tape? Was it placebo? Did it just get better on its own? I can’t run a randomized clinical trial on myself, so I don’t know.  Others with spondylitis have had similar experiences, though.  Some studies have shown kinesiology tape to be effective for back pain, while others have not. Overall, studies show some positive benefit. I wasn’t able to find any studies specific to spondylitis or even arthritis, unfortunately. It’s easy enough to apply, though, that trying it out may be worth it. I’d definitely do it again to see if I get the same results.

Applying kinesiology tape

Makers of kinesiology tape have websites dedicated to teaching you how to use it, such as KT Tape and Kinesio Tape. They can include written instructions as well as videos.

If you’d rather not be applying it yourself, or you’d like a professional to put it on for the first time, sports trainers and physical therapists will often have people who have been trained in different ways to apply it. They can also advise you on where/when to use it.

For my knee, I personally have used the full knee support suggested by the makers of KT Tape, and it works wonderfully for me. I’ve also tried their shoulder stability and general shoulder applications for my shoulder problems. For my back, I used an application that’s supposed to support the low back and SI joint.

The KT Tape site has a lot of applications for very specific problems, if you know exactly what ails you. For example, since I know I have arthritis of the AC joint, I could try an application specific for that if it acts up. The thumb joint application might be helpful for thumb and finger arthritis. Since not all of these are clinically tested, though, some may not work as well as some others.

Just because I haven’t tried it, or it hasn’t worked for me, that doesn’t mean it won’t work for someone else. Everybody’s bodies are different. It might also help to have some idea what’s wrong before applying the tape, because nonspecific applications for my shoulder clearly weren’t helpful. Kinesiology tape isn’t a wonder drug or a cure-all, but it can be very useful for certain problems.

Is there something I didn’t talk about that kinesiology tape has really helped you with? Share your knowledge in the comments!

-Bri

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