Researchers in Australia have found that athletic tape can be used to improve pain from patellofemoral osteoarthritisa form of osteoarthritis found around or behind the kneecap.
This was a small studyto be sureinvolving only 28 people14 with and 14 without patellofemoral arthritis. Yet the findings may provide another therapy option for people with this knee pain. This finding may also benefit people with chronic patellofemoral painwhich is relatively common in runners and can oftentimes be related to a misalignment in the knee joint.
The researchers from the University of Melbourne enlisted the 28 participantsall adults with an average age of 57. The researchers took MRI scans of the participants knees and discovered that the arthritis sufferers had a higher incidence of misalignment of the knee jointincluding an inclination for the kneecap to be positioned toward the outside of the leg.
Using athletic tape to wrap the patient’s kneesthe researchers were able to improve that misalignment. This contributed to improvement in reported pain during a squatting exercise.
According to lead researcherDr. Kay M. Crossley;
“Our results confirm that patellar taping is an excellent technique which can be recommended for people with (patellofemoral arthritis).”
The tape must be applied correctly to achieve the benefitand not to worsen the condition. The researchers indicated that a physical therapist would be the most appropriate to wrap the kneebut that with instruction and practicethe patient would be able to successfully tape their own knee.
Using tape may not be the best solution for everyone with patellofemoral pain. Many people may require other forms of therapy or a combination with taping. Dr. Crossley stated that she and her colleagues are currently conducting a clinical trial which is studying the outcomes of knee taping with other treatments.
The results of the taping study were published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.
Athletic Tape
This was a small studyto be sureinvolving only 28 people14 with and 14 without patellofemoral arthritis. Yet the findings may provide another therapy option for people with this knee pain. This finding may also benefit people with chronic patellofemoral painwhich is relatively common in runners and can oftentimes be related to a misalignment in the knee joint.
The researchers from the University of Melbourne enlisted the 28 participantsall adults with an average age of 57. The researchers took MRI scans of the participants knees and discovered that the arthritis sufferers had a higher incidence of misalignment of the knee jointincluding an inclination for the kneecap to be positioned toward the outside of the leg.
Using athletic tape to wrap the patient’s kneesthe researchers were able to improve that misalignment. This contributed to improvement in reported pain during a squatting exercise.
According to lead researcherDr. Kay M. Crossley;
The tape must be applied correctly to achieve the benefitand not to worsen the condition. The researchers indicated that a physical therapist would be the most appropriate to wrap the kneebut that with instruction and practicethe patient would be able to successfully tape their own knee.
Using tape may not be the best solution for everyone with patellofemoral pain. Many people may require other forms of therapy or a combination with taping. Dr. Crossley stated that she and her colleagues are currently conducting a clinical trial which is studying the outcomes of knee taping with other treatments.
The results of the taping study were published in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.