Preliminary Study of Immediate Effect of Iliotibial Band Releasing Taping on Stiffness of Iliotibial Band and Patella-Condyle Distance

Background and Purpose: Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is a common knee injury, which was characterized by anterior knee pain during activities such as squatting or going up and down stairs. Tightness of the iliotibial band (ITB) is one of risk factors of PFPS, since a tight ITB would decrease the patella-condyle distance (PCD). In order to stretch the ITB, several physical therapy methods are used clinically. The kinesio tape, currently, has been applied on the distal ITB with full tension, creating a stretching force on the ITB, but there is little available information on its effects. The purpose of this study is to determine if the iliotibial band releasing taping (ITBRT) improves the stiffness of the ITB and PCD, which were measured using shear wave elastography (SWE) and ultrasonography, respectively. This study is only the first phase in a series of ITBRT studies. Methods: Ten healthy adults (age 20～28 yrs) with regular exercises participated in this study. All participants were treated with ITBRT and sham treatment over 2 separate sessions at a 1-week interval in a random order. Stiffness of the ITB was measured using SWE, and PCD was evaluated using ultrasonography. Assessments were carried out before and after each intervention. Results: Compared with sham treatment, the ITBRT significantly decreased stiffness of the ITB (165.8 ± 45.92 vs. 213.0 ± 23.12, p = 0.001) although there was no difference in PCD (5.25 ± 0.86 vs. 5.57 ± 0.40, p ＞ 0.025). Additionally, the sham treatment showed no improvement in both stiffness of the ITB and PCD. Conclusion: ITBRT offered benefits in stiffness of the ITB, but has no changes in PCD. Clinical Relevance: ITBRT can improve the extensibility of the ITB, indicating that ITBRT provide as an alternative method for releasing the tight ITB. Interventions aimed at reversing tight ITB in people with PFPS require further investigation.