A Study to Compare Phonophoresis with Kinesio Taping in Reducing Pain and Improving Grip Strength in Subjects with Tennis Elbow

Background: Taping techniques are advocated for musculoskeletal conditions such as Tennis elbow, a prevalent disorder with a significant impact on the individual and community. Little evidence exists supporting the effects of taping techniques on musculoskeletal pain. Therefore, the study aims to determine the effectiveness of a taping technique on pain and grip strength in subjects with tennis elbow. Method: 30 subjects were taken into the study and divided into 2 groups of 15 in each group. Group A subjects were treated with phonophoresis with sodium diclofenac gel of 2% for 5-8 minutes for 6 weeks. Group B patients were treated with Kinesio taping for 6 weeks. Before and after treatment, pain was measured using a Visual analogue scale, and grip strength was measured with a modified sphygmomanometer. Result: This study revealed a significant difference between the phonophoresis (Group A) and kinesiotaping (Group B) treatments. Although in both the groups, there was a reduction in pain and improvement in grip strength, significant improvement was seen in Group B subjects treated with kinesiotaping where the p-value is <0.0001 shows extremely significant improvement in Group B in reducing pain and improving grip strength when compared to Group A. Conclusion: Although the study showed beneficial results in both groups, the results reflected that the kinesiotaping group (Group B) had better improvement than the other phonophoresis group (Group A) measured in pain and grip strength in patients with tennis elbow. Key words: Tennis Elbow, VAS, Phonophoresis, Taping, Physiotherapy.