Kinesio Taping Applied to Lumbar Muscles in Static Lumbar Flexion

Purpose: In approaching full trunk flexion (75%-80% of full flexion), myoelectric activity of&nbsp;lumbar erector spinae muscles is reduced or silenced; this response is known as flexion-relaxation&nbsp;phenomenon (FRP). FRP is a shift in load sharing and spinal stabilization from active structures&nbsp;(erector spinae muscles) to passive ligamentous and articular structures. Static lumbar flexion&nbsp;under constant displacement or load, within the physiological range, elicits creep in lumbar&nbsp;viscoelastic tissues. During a short static lumbar flexion, significant changes are elicited in the&nbsp;muscular activity pattern of the FRP. Laxity in the passive tissues of the spine during prolonged&nbsp;spinal flexion disturbs the spinal stability. This study investigated the effects of Kinesio taping&nbsp;(KT) before and after periods of the static lumbar flexion on the timing of FRP for the erector&nbsp;spinae muscles. Methods: The research was conducted on 22 healthy female college students. The surface&nbsp;electromyographic silence and onset of the erector spinae muscle activities were measured in&nbsp;two states; before the static lumbar flexion and 10 minutes after the static lumbar flexion in two&nbsp;conditions (with and without KT). Results: The results indicate that KT causes erector spinae muscles relaxation earlier in the&nbsp;flexion and later reactivated in the extension. In other words, KT increased flexion relaxation time&nbsp;in erector spinae muscles (P<0.05). The results also indicate that 10 minutes static lumbar flexion&nbsp;will produce relaxation of the erector spinae muscles later during the forward bending activity&nbsp;and earlier reactivation during the extension (P<0.05). Application of KT cannot compensate the&nbsp;effects of 10 minutes static flexion at the onset and the silence of flexion relaxation and over again&nbsp;creep causes FRP occurs later. Conclusion: According to the effects of KT before the creep in reducing the duration of the&nbsp;muscles activity, kinesio tape may be used in reducing muscle spasms and duration of erector&nbsp;spinae muscles activity. It may also improve FRP in the back and the people who are predisposed&nbsp;to the back pain and FRP has not seen in them. Therefore, the need for research on these subjects&nbsp;and other factors, such as the electrical activity of muscles is essential. Although the application of&nbsp;KT cannot substitute the effects of 10 minutes static flexion on the onset and the silence of flexion&nbsp;relaxation, it could be used for protection and reduction of using strained viscoelastic structures.