The Effect of Cervical Taping on Neck Pain and Kinematics in Patients With Chronic Neck Pain

Objective: This study examined the effects of elastic tape applied to the neck on patients experiencing chronic neck pain. Background: Neck pain is often persistent or recurrent. Various treatments have been described, including exercises and manual therapy. Taping is commonly used clinically in the management of neck pain, however research in this field is sparse. Methods: Elastic tape was applied over the posterior cervical extensor muscles from insertion to origin on patients experiencing chronic neck pain. Patients were assessed pre-taping, immediately post-taping, and one week post-taping and did not receive additional physiotherapy during the study. Subjective measures included the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for pain intensity, the Neck Disability Index (NDI) to determine the level of disability in daily living, and the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK) to assess fear of movement or re-injury. Objective outcome measures included cervical range of motion, velocity, smoothness, and accuracy of cervical motion. These kinematic measures were collected using a customised virtual reality system designed to evaluate neck motion disorders.