Short-term effects of kinesiology taping, dry needling and their combination in patients with subacromial pain syndrome: A single-blind randomized controlled trial

BackgroundSubacromial pain syndrome (SAPS) is a common cause of shoulder pain and is frequently managed with exercise-based rehabilitation. In clinical practice, interventions such as dry needling (DN) and kinesiology taping (KT) are often used alongside exercise programs, although their short-term effectiveness remains unclear.ObjectiveTo compare the effectiveness of DN, KT, their combination and physical therapy modalities (PTM) when applied alongside exercise therapy in patients with SAPS.MethodsEighty adults with SAPS were included in this four-arm randomized controlled trial. Group 1 received KT plus exercise, Group 2 received DN plus exercise, Group 3 received combined DN and KT plus exercise, and Group 4 received PTM plus exercise. Interventions were applied over 3 weeks. Pain intensity and functional disability were assessed at baseline, week 1 and week 3, and kinesiophobia at baseline and week 3. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman, and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.ResultsSignificant within-group improvements in pain, functional disability and kinesiophobia were observed in all groups (p < 0.01). At week 3, reductions in pain were greater in the combined DN and KT group than in the PTM group, while kinesiophobia showed a similar pattern, although improvement in the KT group was comparable to that of the combined group; functional disability improved similarly across groups.ConclusionAll evaluated interventions were associated with improvement when used as adjuncts to exercise-based rehabilitation. The combination of DN and KT was associated with greater reductions in pain and kinesiophobia than PTM, whereas functional improvement was similar across groups.