Article

Pain is one of the most common and disabling "nonmotor" symptoms in
patients with dystonia. No recent study evaluated the pharmacological or physical
therapy approaches to specifically treat dystonic pain symptoms. OBJECTIVE: To
evaluate the effectiveness of KinesioTaping in patients with cervical dystonia
(CD) and focal hand dystonia (FHD) on self-reported pain (primary objective) and
on sensory functions (secondary objective). METHODS: Twenty-five dystonic
patients (14 with CD and 11 FHD) entered a randomized crossover pilot study. The
patients were randomized to 14-day treatment with KinesioTaping or ShamTaping
over neck (in CD) or forearm muscles (in FHD), and after a 30-day washout period,
they received the other treatment. The MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: were 3 visual
analog scales (VASs) for usual pain, worst pain, and pain relief. Disease
severity changes were evaluated by means of the Toronto Western Spasmodic
Torticollis Rating Scale (CD) and the Writer's Cramp Rating Scale (FHD).
Furthermore, to investigate possible KinesioTaping-induced effects on sensory
functions, we evaluated the somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold.
RESULTS: Treatment with KinesioTape induced a decrease in the subjective
sensation of pain and a modification in the ability of sensory discrimination,
whereas ShamTaping had no effect. A significant, positive correlation was found
in both groups of patients between the improvement in the subjective sensation of
pain and the reduction of somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold values
induced by KinesioTaping. CONCLUSIONS: These preliminary results suggest that
KinesioTaping may be useful in treating pain in patients with dystonia.

Langue : ANGLAIS