title: Kinesio taping in patients with lateral epicondylitis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lateral epicondylitis (LE) is a painful condition that affects the tendinous tissue of the lateral epicondyle of the humerus and leads to loss of function of the affected limb. Therefore it can have a major impact on the patient's social and personal life. Many treatments are recommended for lateral epicondylitis; unfortunately the evidence is limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The aim of study was to investigate the effect of kinesio taping (KT) on pain, grip strength and function in patients LE.
  
  
  METHODS
  Thirty-one (23 females, 8 males) patients with LE were included. KT was applied twice a week for 2 weeks. Pain at rest, activity of daily living (ADL), night and palpation on lateral epicondyle was evaluated with the visual analog scale (VAS 0-10 cm), and the grip strength was measured with a hand held dynamometer. The stage of the disease was evaluated by the Nirschl score and the functional status was assessed with Patient-Rated Forearm Evaluation Questionnaire (PRTEQ) score. These parameters were evaluated before, at 2 weeks and 6 weeks after treatment. Patients' satisfaction was also recorded on a Likert scale after treatment at 2 weeks and 6 weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average age of the patients was 43.58 ± 9.02. The dominant limb was affected in 64.5% (20) of the patients. After the application of KT on lateral epicondyle, there was a significant improvement in all parameters in terms of pain, Nirschl score, hand grip strength, patient satisfaction, and PRTEQ scores at 2 and 6 weeks.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Kinesio taping can be an effective treatment method in LE. This application improves pain, grip strength and functional status of the patients with LE.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey.
authors.forename: Banu
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Dilek
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ibrahim
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Batmaz
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa Akif
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Sarıyıldız
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ebru
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sahin
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Leman
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ilter
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dokuz Eylul University Faculty of Medicine, Turkey.
authors.forename: Selmin
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gulbahar
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Remzi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cevik
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Dicle University Faculty of Medicine, Diyarbakir, Turkey.
authors.forename: Kemal
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D055052:Athletic Tape; D005260:Female; D018737:Hand Strength; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D013716:Tennis Elbow / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D064232:Visual Analog Scale; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Kinesio taping; Lateral epicondylitis; functional status; treatment