The Effect of Forearm Kinesio Taping on Hand Grip Strength of Healthy People

Abstract

Background & Aims: Grip strength plays a fundamental role in many daily activities of upper extremities. Reduced grip strength is common in patients with some musculoskeletal disorders in upper extremities. Kinesio taping of the forearm area might help to facilitate muscle contraction through stimulating the skin mechanoreceptors and consequently increasing sensory feedbacks around the taped area. This study aimed to find the best place and time for kinesio taping of the forearm in increasing hand grip strength. Methods: Using a simple non-randomized sampling method, 40 healthy subjects (20 males and 20 females) were recruited in this interventional study. First, the flexor, extensor and flexor/extensor muscle groups of the forearm were taped with a 50% stretched and I-shaped technique. A grip-meter device (MIE, UK) was used to measure the grip strength every half an hour during 2 hours and then the tape was removed from the skin. Changes of the hand grip strength before and after the taping were recorded and analyzed using Repeated Measure and One-Way ANOVA.Results: Mean age of participants was 22.3±2 years. Hand grip strength of males increased from 38.33±6.5 to 42.4±7.3 kg (P<0.05) and in females it increased from 19.3±4.5 to 23.5±4.3 kg (P<0.05). In addition, taping on the extensor region increased hand grip strength more than when it was used on the flexor or flexor/extensor regions (P<0.05). Furthermore, male subjects reached to the maximum hand grip strength (10.8% increase in force) in half an hour after taping while females reached to this point (23.9% increase in force) 1.5 hour after taping Conclusion: Kinesio taping technique seemed to be effective in increasing hand grip strength of healthy individuals and the best region for tape application is the extensor region of the forearm. Although in females increase of hand grip strength occurs later than males, the rate of this increase is higher.