Clinical trial NCT04711447: Effect of Inhibitory Kinesio-tape of the Upper Trapezius on Lower Trapezius Muscle Excitation
Official title: Effect of Inhibitory Kinesio-tape of the Upper Trapezius on Lower Trapezius Muscle Excitation
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Scapular Dyskinesis
Keywords: kinesio tape (KT)
Shoulder
upper trapezius
lower trapezius
Lead sponsor: University of Manitoba
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2021-01-15
Enrollment: 25
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 60
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: CROSSOVER
Primary purpose: BASIC_SCIENCE

Brief summary: Shoulder pain increases excitation (or activity) of the upper trapezius (UT) and reduces excitation in lower trapezius (LT). Despite inconclusive evidence, kinesio-tape (KT) is often used to modify muscular excitation within the UT and/or LT to help correct alterations in scapular position and motion associated with shoulder pain/injury. The objectives of the current study were to determine if: 1) inhibitory KT to the UT acutely increases muscle excitation (whole-muscle and spatial distribution) within the LT in healthy individuals; and 2) if loading the limb alters the magnitude of change in muscle excitation of the LT. We hypothesize that: 1) inhibitory KT application to the UT will immediately increase whole-muscle LT excitation, and result in an inferior shift in the distribution of excitation within the LT compared to no tape and sham-KT tape conditions; and 2) the magnitude of immediate increase in LT excitation with KT would be greater in the loaded condition. A repeated-measures, crossover design was used to determine the impact of KT applied to UT and load on muscle excitation of the LT. Participants were asked to perform a repeated arm elevation task during three different taping conditions: no KT, experimental KT and sham KT. Each taping condition performed the repeated arm elevation task during two loading conditions: no load and loaded with 2.3 kilograms. All six conditions were tested during one visit with the no load condition preceding the loaded condition for each taping condition. A baseline trial (no KT; N-KT) was performed first, followed by both an experimental-KT (E-KT) and sham-KT (S-KT) condition. The order of the E-KT and S-KT conditions were randomized and the order was counterbalanced. Testing for each tape condition lasted approximately 10-minutes for a total of 45-minutes per participant including screening, EMG set-up and clean-up. KT was applied to the UT and muscle excitation (EMG amplitude) was measured in the LT using one single 32-grid high-density surface electromyography (HD-sEMG) electrode during a repeated arm elevation task.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* right-handed individuals
* no current shoulder pain or pathology in the shoulder, neck, back.

Exclusion Criteria:

* recent history (\<6 months) of injury or orthopedic disorder of the shoulder, upper back or neck (e.g. rotator cuff tears, disc pathologies, etc.)
* neurological or musculoskeletal disorder (e.g. epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, etc.)
* current pain in the shoulder, upper back or neck
* previous allergies or skin irritation to adhesives.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Whole-muscle Activation
timeFrame: Measured during 2nd-9th repetitions of the arm elevation task. Each repetition lasted approximately 1.5 seconds, thus the timeframe was approximately 12 seconds.
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Spatial Distribution of Muscle Activation
timeFrame: Measured during 2nd-9th repetitions of the arm elevation task. Each repetition lasted approximately 1.5 seconds, thus the timeframe was approximately 12 seconds.
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Winnipeg
country: Canada
facility: University of Manitoba
state: Manitoba
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Manitoba
name: Trisha Scribbans
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: