Recruiting

Kinesio Tape

Sponsor:

Indiana University

Code:

NCT04128670

Conditions

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 30

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Interventions

Kinesiotape

Study Details

Brief summary:

The purpose of this study is to determine the effect of Kinesio tape on delayed onset muscle soreness of the biceps muscle of your arm following strenuous exercise of the bicep muscle.

Conditions

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness

Study ID

NCT04128670

Start date

Jan 30, 2020

Status verified date

Nov, 2025

Completion date

May 30, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

May 30, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 18 - 30

Healthy Volunteers: Accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18 to 30 years old

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Participating in any strengthening exercises or activities of the upper extremities for the past month.
  • Regularly (\~2x per month) participating in strengthening exercises or activities that include lengthening actions of the upper extremity for the past 6 months.
  • An answer of yes to any of the seven questions on the first page of the 2019 Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire \[PAR-Q: 16\] indicating that the subject is not physically ready for exercise without a medical exam. These exclusions include the following:

  • If participant's doctor has ever said that he/she has a heart condition or high blood pressure
  • Pain in chest at rest, during daily activities of living, or when doing physical activity
  • If participant has ever lost balance because of dizziness or has lost consciousness in the past 12 months
  • If the participant currently has (or have had within the past 12 months) a bone, joint, or soft tissue (muscle, ligament, or tendon) problem that could be made worse by becoming more physically activity
  • If participant is currently taking prescribed medications for a chronic medical condition
  • If the participant's doctor has ever told them that they should only do medically supervised physical activity.
  • Currently taking nutritional supplements or anti-inflammatory medication on a daily basis
  • Any injury or surgery to the neck or upper extremity in the past 6 months
  • Open or scabbed wounds in the arm area to be taped
  • Known allergies to the tape or medical adhesive bandages
  • If skin irritation develops to the tape

Session exclusion criteria:

● Taking over-the-counter pain medications on days of testing, prior to testing sessions, including acetaminophen (Tylenol) and nonsteroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil) or naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn).

Study Design

Enrollment

36 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Treatment

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Kinesiotape (KT)

Tape will be applied to the biceps muscle of the nondominant arm from approximately the shoulder to the elbow for up to 72 hours. For the KT group taping will be applied with a lymphatic application method according to the guidelines recommended by Kenzo Kase. This type of application is known to improve blood and lymphatic circulation which enhances the removal of metabolic products. The tape will be applied with a tension of 10-20%.

placebo comparator: Placebo Kinesiotape

Tape will be applied to the biceps muscle of the nondominant arm from approximately the shoulder to the elbow for up to 72 hours. The placebo KT group will have 0% tension.

no intervention: No Tape

This group will not receive any intervention.

Interventions

Kinesiotape

Tape will be applied to the biceps muscle of the nondominant arm from approximately the shoulder to the elbow for up to 72 hours. For the KT group taping will be applied with a lymphatic application method according to the guidelines recommended by Kenzo Kase. This type of application is known to improve blood and lymphatic circulation which enhances the removal of metabolic products. It is recommended that the application of the tape for lymphatic correction be applied for 24-72 hours. The tape will be applied with a tension of 10-20%.

Primary outcome measure

  • change in worst pain in previous 24 hours [ Time Frame: This measure will be assessed at baseline and 48 hours and 72 hours following completion of the eccentric exercise protocol ]
  • Change in average pain in previous 24 hours [ Time Frame: This measure will be assessed at baseline and 48 hours and 72 hours following completion of the eccentric exercise protocol ]
  • Change in pain during elbow extension and elbow flexion [ Time Frame: This measure will be assessed at baseline and 48 hours and 72 hours following completion of the eccentric exercise protocol ]
  • Change in pressure pain threshold of the affected biceps [ Time Frame: This measure will be assessed at baseline and 48 hours and 72 hours following completion of the eccentric exercise protocol ]
  • Change in Active Total Elbow Range of Motion (AT-ROM) [ Time Frame: This measure will be assessed at baseline and 48 hours and 72 hours following completion of the eccentric exercise protocol ]
  • Change in pain during elbow flexion and extension [ Time Frame: This measure will be assessed at baseline and 48 hours and 72 hours following completion of the eccentric exercise protocol ]
  • Change in Maximal Strength of non-dominant bicep. [ Time Frame: This measure will be assessed at baseline and 48 hours and 72 hours following completion of the eccentric exercise protocol ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Kelly M Naugle, PhD

3172740601kmnaugle@iupui.edu

Locations

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis

Recruiting

Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202

Contacts

Kelly M Naugle

317-274-0601kmnaugle@iupui.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Indiana University

Last update posted

Nov 10, 2025

Last verified

Nov, 2025

Keywords

  • kinesio tape
  • muscle soreness
  • eccentric exercise
  • muscle pain

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Indiana University on 2025-11-10.