Effect of elastic taping on muscle activation and isometric torque of the knee extensors in subjects with osteoarthritis

Abstract

Osteoarthritis is a chronic joint disease characterized by a progressive degeneration of articular cartilage, resulting in functional impairment. Among the affected joints, the knee is the most affected due to mechanical overload imposed on the joint in daily activities. The knee osteoarthritis is considered one of the most disabling forms of the disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of elastic taping (ET) in quadriceps muscle activation and in isometric torque of knee extensors in subjects with knee osteoarthritis. The study included 13 volunteers (64.5 ± 7.2 years) female, with radiological diagnosis of knee osteoarthritis. Data collection procedures were carried out in three days, with an interval of seven days between them. The volunteers were evaluated in three different conditions: without ET, placebo-ET and activation-ET. Evaluations of knee extensor isometric torque and electromyographic activation of the rectus femoris, vastus medialis and vastus lateralis through surface electromyography were performed. Repeated Measures ANOVA test was used for statistical analysis and level of significance was set at p < 0.05. The results showed no significant difference compared muscle activation and torque between the conditions analyzed (p = 0.556). It follows that ET has not been capable of promoting a change in muscle recruitment and quadriceps isometric torque in subjects with knee osteoarthritis.