Kinesiotaping in Isolated Meniscus Injuries

Our study was designed as a randomized controlled trial. All patients presenting to the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation outpatient clinic with knee pain and meeting the inclusion criteria will be included in the study after being informed and giving their consent. Patients' age, gender, and body mass index will be recorded. Patients will be divided into three groups using stratified randomization. An attempt will be made to ensure a homogeneous distribution of patients in terms of gender, age, and body mass index. Group 1 will receive standard treatment, Group 2 will receive standard treatment + kinesiotaping, and Group 3 will receive standard treatment + sham taping. Standard treatment will consist of strengthening exercises for the quadriceps and hamstring muscles, stretching exercises around the knee, proprioceptive exercises, and activity modification. These exercises will be taught to the patient and they will be asked to perform them at home five days a week for three weeks. Kinesiotaping and sham taping will be applied three times, once every five days. Kinesiotaping will be applied to the group with a specific tension and technique (quadriceps facilitation technique, "Y" tape shape, applied with 25-50% tension), while the sham group will have the tape simply applied to the skin without any tension (perpendicular to the quadriceps muscle, tension-free). Kinesiotapes do not contain any medication; their effect depends on the technique (facilitation, inhibition, etc.) and tension level (10%, 25%, 50%, 75%). All patients will have VAS and WOMAC parameters evaluated before treatment, on day 20, and at month 3 after treatment.

Inclusion criteria

• Ages 18-50
• Knee pain lasting longer than 2 weeks
• Having a diagnosis of isolated meniscus injury (grade 1, 2 or 3 meniscus degeneration) confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Not having undergone knee surgery in the last 6 months
• Not having received intraarticular injections in the knee area
• Being willing to participate in the study

Exclusion criteria

• Trauma history
• Anterior or posterior cruciate ligament injury
• Collateral ligament injuries
• Advanced knee osteoarthritis
• Rheumatic or neurological disease
• Allergy or skin condition to kinesiotape
• History of intraarticular injection
• Neuromuscular dysfunction
• Rheumatological disease
• Cognitive dysfunction