Abstract
Prolonged immobility can cause changes in collagen that lead to restrictions in soft-tissue and joints, and treatment for this condition can be painful. Elastic taping has gained popularity as a method of acutely reducing pain via decompression to the tissues underlying the skin and via counter-stimulatory effects, and may serve a benefit during end range mobilization of restrictive joints. The subject case patient is a 14-year-old Caucasian male who suffered a closed and non-displaced tibia and fibula fracture. He was placed in a long leg cast for approximately 9.5 weeks, and presented to physical therapy with minimal knee flexion and 10/10 pain on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS). The patient was treated with a multi-modal approach including RockTape® application, therapeutic exercise, manual soft-tissue massage, and thermal modalities aimed at reducing pain and increasing strength, flexibility, and range of motion. At the end of each treatment session, a Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) score was taken during passive end-range left knee flexion in supine. The same intervention was then repeated with RockTape® applied to the areas of reported pain using a decompression taping method. After the RockTape® was applied, NPRS scores for left knee and anterior thigh pain improved an average of 2.07 points and 7.67 points, respectively. These improvements in NPRS scores are equivalent to, or exceed, the minimal clinically important difference and minimal detectable change for this outcome measure.