Kinesio taping influences the mechanical behaviour of the skin of the low back: A possible pathway for functionally relevant effects

摘要

Abstract Despite claims of functional benefits of kinesio tape application, little mechanistic evidence exists to support physiological pathways to achieve these benefits. As kinesio tape is adhered directly to the skin, it can be supposed that any pathway needs to first achieve effects at this level. To address this, two layers of the skin, the combined epidermis and dermis, as well as the hypodermis were studied. Specifically, -kinematic measures of skin surface stretch and retraction, as well as ultrasound measures of skin thickness, were made along all edges of kinesio tape applied over the low back. Results demonstrated that the more superficial skin layer (combined epidermis and dermis), but not the deeper hypodermis, was significantly stretched (p?=?.0001) and thinner (p?=?.0016) at either end of the tape, and significantly retracted (p?