Efficacy of Kinesiology Taping as an Adjunct Treatment of Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: A Systematic Review

An abstract of a systematic review by Fitch et al determining if kinesiology tape can improve range of motion, subacromial space, and subjective function as an adjunct treatment in individuals with shoulder impingement syndrome is presented. Kinesiology tape may be effective in reducing impairments, such as altered range of motion and decreased subacromial space, commonly associated with shoulder impingement syndrome. However, these improvements were only identified when used as an adjunct treatment. These results also do not indicate that kinesiology tape has a clinically significant effect at improving subjective function. Future research should look into the treatment of kinesiology tape alone, rather than in conjunction with other interventions to examine the effectiveness of this intervention when treating patients with shoulder impingement syndrome.