the search for new therapeutic approaches capable of preventing and treating 
 musculoskeletal dysfunctions is progressively increasing in conjunction with current 
 technological innovations . in this context , taping techniques have developed as a complement 
 to the treatment of musculoskeletal dysfunctions , and has improved over time to provide 
 therapeutic effects which do not hinder the functionality of a particular body segment . in 1973 , dr . kenzo kase developed an elastic tape with elastic properties similar to the 
 skin , and named it kinesio tape1,2,3,4 . the kinesio taping method originated from the hypothesis that an 
 external component could aid the functions of muscles and other tissues5 , 6 . it is thin and 
 elastic by design , and can stretch to 40% to 60% of its original length , which makes it very 
 elastic compared to traditional taping materials , allowing complete range of motion5,6,7 . various authors have described the benefits of kinesio taping as being dependent on the 
 stretch of the tape and the form of placement on the skin , which elicits : positional 
 stimulus and correction of muscle function ; improvement of fascial tissue alignment ; 
 facilitation of bodily fluid circulation ; repair of injured tissues ; sensory stimulation 
 assisting or limiting movement , thereby improving proprioception ; edema control by guiding 
 lymph toward lymph nodes ; and correction of joint position2 , 5,6,7,8,9,10,11 . according to kenzo kase , the stretch applied to the tape creates tension in the skin which 
 improves communication with mechanoreceptors and increases the number of motor units 
 recruited during a muscle contraction5 . 
 through these effects , the tape can improve muscle function by facilitating the contraction 
 of inactive muscles . therefore , the application of kinesio taping over the gripping musculature of the hand 
 could possibly be used to complement therapeutic treatment of manual dysfunction once its 
 influence has been assessed on healthy individuals . the human hand is clearly the most 
 important and complex structure of the upper extremity due to its extensive mobility and the 
 sensitive capabilities of its surrounding tissues , which allows gripping and feeling , its 
 essential functions2 , 12 due to the increasing utilization of kinesio tape in clinical settings , studies are 
 necessary to confirm the purported benefits of the method and establish evidence - based 
 standards for this technique . in light of the scarcity of research regarding kinesio taping , 
 and the fundamental role of handgrip strength in activities of daily living , this study 
 assessed the effects of kinesio taping on the handgrip strength of healthy women , as 
 measured by handgrip dynamometry . this study recruited 75 healthy women volunteers , aged between 18 and 30  years , who were 
 randomly subdivided into three groups ( n=25 ) : kinesio , kinesio without tension ( kwt ) , and 
 the control groups . the kinesio group received tape application at 25% to 35% of tension ; 
 the kwt group received tape application with no longitudinal stretch ; while the control 
 group did not receive any taping techniques . subjects from both the kinesio and kwt groups 
 were unaware of the tension utilized on their respective taping techniques to avoid possible 
 influences on the results . the subjects of this study were physical therapy students of the university salgado de 
 oliveira in brazil , who were invited to participate as volunteers through advertisements 
 placed inside their classrooms . the inclusion criteria required a signed informed consent 
 form and agreement to participate during all phases of the study . the exclusion criteria were : outside of the established age range ; absence from the 24-hour 
 or 48-hour follow - up assessment of handgrip strength ; presence of limiting factors which 
 could have influenced the results , such as cardiopulmonary , hormonal , or osteomyoarticular 
 disorders ; joint or bone deformities , congenital or acquired , in either of the upper 
 extremities ; central or peripheral neurological deficits ; use of anabolic substances ; injury 
 or surgery to the upper extremities within the last six months ; or consumption of alcoholic 
 beverages or pharmaceutical substances 24 hours prior to the start of this study . this research was approved by the research ethics committee of the hospital of tropical 
 diseases under protocol number 009/2011 . the instrument utilized to measure handgrip strength was a jamar dynamometer , 
 which has been validated as a gold standard tool for this purpose by the american society of 
 hand therapists ( asht)11 . this instrument 
 allows simple and quick readings of handgrip strength , which is measured in kilograms / force . initially , the subjects sat on an adjustable chair which was adjusted so that subjects 
 backs were straight , with their knees and hips in 90 of flexion with their feet on the 
 floor . the shoulders were positioned in adduction next to the trunk with the elbows in 90 
 of flexion , the forearm and wrist in the neutral position , and the arm unsupported , while 
 the examiner held the dynamometer for each reading , as recommended by the asht14 . the subjects performed the handgrip movement with maximum effort , only during exhalation 
 and after a verbal cue given by the examiner : three measurements were 
 made for each hand , alternating the test sides , starting with the right hand a rest interval 
 of 60 seconds was provided between trials in order to avoid muscle fatigue during the 
 assessment . subjects were instructed to maintain maximum contraction for 5 seconds in each 
 trial , since research has demonstrate that peak force is reached between 3 to 10 seconds of 
 contraction13 . subjects from the kinesio and kwt groups had the skin of their forearms cleaned with a 
 cotton pad and 70% alcohol before the application of the respective kinesio taping 
 techniques . a single researcher certified in the kinesio taping method conducted the taping , 
 and pink kinesio tex gold tape was used . the technique performed for the kinesio group aims to influence muscle function by 
 activating the flexor digitorum superficialis muscles . the tape was initially anchored with 
 2.5 to 5  cm of tape at the medial epicondyle , then 25% to 35% of tension was applied as it 
 was wound over the target muscle toward the hand . the kwt group received the same tape 
 application , but no tension was added as the tape was applied ( 0% of stretch ) . the control 
 group only performed the handgrip strength assessment and did not receive any taping . the handgrip strength dynamometry was reassessed for all groups after 30 minutes , 24 hours , 
 and 48 hours of taping . the subjects did not exercise their gripping muscles during the 48 
 hours of this study . the variables were 
 normally distributed , and the statistical package for the social science software ( version 
 15.0 ) was used . initially , a descriptive analysis of the data was conducted in order to 
 obtain the mean , standard deviations , minimums , and maximums of the mesured items . the anova 
 test ( complemented by the student s t - test ) was used to verify and compare the effects of 
 kinesio taping on handgrip strength after 30 minutes , 24 hours , and 48 hours . the initial sample size totaled 83 subjects , with an average age of 21.5  years ( sd  2.60 ) . eight subjects did 
 not participate in the study s entirety ( did not return after 24 or 48 hours for 
 reassessment of handgrip strength , or presented limiting factors which could have interfered 
 with the results ) , and were excluded following the exclusion criteria , reducing the sample 
 size to 75 healthy women . regarding the behavior of handgrip strength values , it was observed that only the kinesio 
 group presented an increase in the average values of each at the assessment times ( table 1table 1.average strength of the right and left hands of the different groups 
 ( kg / f)time of assessmentkinesio groupaverage ( sd)control groupaverage ( sd)kinesio with notension average ( sd)right handpre - taping ( baseline)24.6 ( 3.5)25.0 ( 3.3)25.4 ( 2.9)30 minutes later26.5 ( 3.6)*24.4 ( 3.3)25.2 ( 2.9)24 hours later27.1 ( 3.5)*24.8 ( 3.1)25.2 ( 2.7)48 hours later26.9 ( 3.5)*24.3 ( 3.0)25.6 ( 3.2)left handpre - taping ( baseline)23.3 ( 3.8)24.3 ( 3.5)25.1 ( 2.6)30 minutes later25.9 ( 4.4)*24.0 ( 3.2)24.6 ( 2.9)24 hours later26.2 ( 3.9)*24.0 ( 2.9)24.8 ( 2.9)48 hours later26.2 ( 3.7)*23.8 ( 3.3)25.2 ( 2.9 ) * statistically significant ( p<0.05 ) ) . * statistically significant ( p<0.05 ) it was also observed that a significant increase in strength values occurred in the right 
 hand , compared to the initial values , after 24 hours and 48 hours of taping . for the left 
 hand , an increase in strength was observed , compared to pre - taping , after 30 minutes 24 
 hours , and 48 hours of taping ( p<0.05 ) . the analysis of the data regarding the duration of taping and the different handgrip 
 assessment times among the groups revealed there were no significant findings between the 
 control and kwt groups . the right hand of the group that received kinesio taping showed 
 significant differences in strength from the control group of taping , and the left hand 
 showed a significant difference after 48 hours of taping . in comparison of the kinesio and 
 kwt groups only the right hand showed a significant difference after 24 hours of taping 
 ( p<0.05 ) . in the comparison of handgrip strength between the dominant and non - dominant hands , it was 
 observed that the dominant hand demonstrated greater handgrip strength at all the assessment 
 times , when considering the average dynamometry value , especially in the kinesio and control 
 groups ( table 1 ) . research regarding kinesio taping is still scarce in the scientific literature since the 
 technique has only received international attention within the last ten years . moreover , the 
 available studies did not have large , homogeneous samples and were conducted with 
 questionable methodologies . it should be noted that the present study is the first to 
 utilize a large sample size in order assess the effects of kinesio taping on muscle 
 strength . the primary objective of this study was to observe the influence of kinesio taping on 
 handgrip strength by comparing the average handgrip strength as measured by dynamometry 
 prior to tape application with its respective values after 30 minutes , 24 hours , and 48 
 hours of taping . the results demonstrate statistically significant differences after 24 
 hours and 48 hours of taping for the right hand , and at the three post - taping assessmentimes 
 for the left hand . the results for the right hand after 30 minutes of taping revealed a 
 p - value of 0.0575 , which although the results was not significant , was very close to the 
 level of significance adopted by this study . similar findings were not observed in the kwt 
 and control groups , thus confirming the hypothesis of this study , that kinesio taping can 
 increase handgrip strength when applied with systematic standards for that purpose . according to kenzo kase , the kinesio taping method can improve the strength of muscles 
 weakened by correcting muscle function with stimuli and reinforcement . our present results 
 are similar to those reported by vithoulka et al.15 in which kinesio taping increased eccentric muscle strength in 
 healthy adults . in contrast to our present results , chang et al.16 evaluated the influence of kinesio taping on the maximum handgrip 
 strength of 21 healthy students , all of them men and athletes . the technique employed was 
 specifically for medial epicondylitis , and no significant changes in strength were observed 
 after taping . however , a confounding factor in this study was that the tension applied to 
 the placebo group , which was the same as that of the kinesio group ( between 15% and 20% ) . also , with the start of taping being more distal than the insertion point , the tension zone 
 was the same , thus making the purpose of comparison between these two groups 
 questionable . another study investigated the immediate and delayed effects of two directions of kinesio 
 taping on maximal isometric strength of the wrist and finger muscles of healthy adults . inhibition and 
 facilitation kt techniques were separately used to tape the dominant and non - dominant 
 forearms of the participants , respectively . maximal isometric strength of wrist extension , 
 middle finger extension , and the grip of both hands were measured before taping , immediately 
 after taping , and after 24  h of taping ( with the tape in situ ) . compared with the baseline , 
 the average maximal isometric strength of middle finger extensors increased considerably 
 after application of the facilitation kinesio tape . no significant time effect was observed 
 on the middle finger extension strength on the dominant side or on the wrist extension and 
 grip strength on either side . divergences are also seen in the results presented by fu et al.16 , in which kinesio taping was applied with 120% of 
 longitudinal stretch over the quadriceps and hamstring muscles of 14 healthy athletes ( 7 men 
 and 7 women ) , and assessed in the following manner : before tape application , immediately 
 after taping , and 12 hours afterward . an isokinetic dynamometer was utilized in order to 
 verify the muscle strength , and no significant increase was found in the muscle strength of 
 these athletes . an issue with the 
 method of this study is that the actual tension applied to the tape was 120% , which should 
 only be utilized for taping procedures of a ligamentous injury . such a high tension may 
 hinder muscle contraction and decrease joint mobility , which could also lead to 
 non - functional movement and muscle inactivation . some authors have reported increases in electromyographic activity induced by the use of 
 kinesio tape : e.g. slupik et al.18 , chen 
 et al.19 , hsu et al.8 , and thelen , dauben and stoneman6 . in all of these studies , , there are consistency issues with the assessments of 
 kinesio taping , as witnessed by the lack of a systematic approach in data collection , which 
 did not permit a reliable assessment of initial benefits , the duration of benefits or the 
 residual effects after kt removal . some authors have evaluated the influence of kinesio 
 taping immediately after its application8 , 16 , other have assessed it immediately 
 afterward and 12 hours later17 , as well 
 as 24 hours and 72 hours later18 , and 
 only after 72 hours of taping15 . with regards to the stretch applied to the tape , some authors do not specify how much was 
 utilized in their studies8 , 19 . other studies simply do not follow the standards 
 recommended by the kinesio taping association . an example of this is related to the tension 
 for muscle activation , which has been established to be between 25% and 35% . nevertheless , 
 some authors have opted to utilize 15% to 20% of tension16 and even 120%15 . also a simple tape just placed without tension as performed for the control group in this 
 study with no specific direction , will elicit tape stimulus and some effects should be 
 apparent . kinesio tape applied to the skin without tension will exert minimal tensions 
 during body and skin movements . no tension is also used in the kinesio taping method for 
 patients that are high sensitive to external stimulous . so it ca nt be called placebo , it is 
 just a different degree of stimulus . when comparing the kinesio and control groups of the present study , the greatest handgrip 
 strength values were observed in the kinesio group at 24 hours and 48 hours after 
 application of the taping technique to the right hand , and after 48 hours for the left hand . these results indicate that handgrip strength increased and remained elevated in the right 
 hand for 48 hours . for the left hand , considering that changes in handgrip strength were observed after 24 hours in the right 
 hand , which lasted up to 48 hours , and that such changes were noted only after 48 hours of 
 taping in the left hand , we believe that the sensitivity of the right hand is greater than 
 that of the left hand . therefore , the mechanoreceptor stimulus induced by the kinesio taping 
 provided a faster response in the right hand than in its counterpart . the left hand possibly 
 required greater tension and a longer period of time for it to receive sufficient 
 stimulation to achieve the same results as for the right hand . with regards to the augmented handgrip strength observed for the right hand of the kinesio 
 group in relation to the kwt group after 24 hours of taping , we assume that the tactile 
 stimulus to the dermis and epidermis are present even when kt is applied without tension , 
 since the skin maintains it normal mobility by stretching and recoiling in relation to the 
 tape during upper extremity movements . another result noted was that the dominant hand presented greater handgrip strength when 
 considering the average values at each of the four assessment times , namely , before kinesio 
 taping application , and 30 minutes , 24 hours , and 48 hours later . this finding was observed 
 for all the groups , but with a higher percentage in the kinesio and control groups . considering the present results , it is possible to conclude that an increase in handgrip 
 strength occurred over pre - taping values at 30 minutes , 24 hours , and 48 hours after kinesio 
 taping application . a statistically significant increase was observed in the kinesio group , 
 when compared to control group after 24 and 48 hours of taping for the right hand , and after 
 48 hours of taping for the left hand . between the kinesio and kwt groups , the dominant hand presented greater handgrip 
 strength values in all assessments of all the groups .
[ purpose ] the purpose of this research was to evaluate the change in muscle function 
 induced by a kinesio tape application with no or moderate tension , to the dominant and 
 non - dominant arms . 
 [ subjects and methods ] this research was a quantitative study , in which 
 75 women participated . 
 the subjects , aged 1830 years , were divided into 3 groups , 
 kinesio , kinesio without tension , and control , and they were assessed before the taping 
 intervention and after 30 minutes , 24 hours , and 48 hours of taping . [ results ] the kinesio 
 group subjects demonstrated an increase in handgrip strength after 30 minutes , 24 hours , 
 and 48 hours of tape application compared to control . a statistically significant increase 
 in strength 
 was observed in the kinesio group comparison to the control after 24 hours and 
 48 hours for the right hand , and after 48 hours for the left hand . 
 improvement in the 
 kinesio group compared to the kinesio without tension was observed only after 24 hours of 
 taping application , and only in the right hand . 
 [ conclusion ] the kinesio taping method 
 augmented the handgrip strength of healthy women , and the increase in grip strength was 
 maintained for 48 hours after its application ; the dominant hand demonstrated the greatest 
 strength values .