TENS and Taping for Older People

Summary

Aim: To examine the acute effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and Kinesio Taping (KT) on lower limb joint proprioception, static standing balance, limits of stability and functional balance performance in community-dwelling older adults.

Design: A one-group experimental study with a repeated-measures design. Sample: 24+ community-dwelling older adults Interventions: TENS and KT, TENS and sham taping, KT and sham TENS, and sham TENS and sham taping (30 minutes each) Major outcomes: Outcomes will be evaluated during each of the intervention conditions. Lower limb joint active repositioning error will be evaluated using a joint position sense test; a force platform will be used to assess the single-leg standing body sway path length and velocity; a functional reach test will give a score that reflects the limits of stability of the participants; and the timed up-and-go test will be used to quantify functional balance performance of the participants.

Anticipated results and significance: It is predicted that both TENS and KT, when applied together, may best improve lower limb joint proprioception and facilitate all balance performances among the community-dwelling older adults. These interventions could be applied in clinical settings to improve joint proprioception and postural control of the elderly people.

Conditions

• Postural
• Defect

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

TENS and KT

TENS will be delivered using three E704SD TIMER TENS devices (or similar) through pairs of electrodes placed on the medial and lateral joint lines of the knee and ankle joints and the anterior and posterior joint lines of the hip joint of both legs. In addition, KT (Kinesio Tex Gold) will be applied to major postural muscles including the bilateral gluteus medius (i.e., crosses hip joint), quadriceps (i.e., crosses the knee joint), and gastrocnemius (i.e., crosses ankle joint) of the participants.

BEHAVIORAL

TENS and sham taping

TENS will be delivered using three E704SD TIMER TENS devices (or similar) through pairs of electrodes placed on the medial and lateral joint lines of the knee and ankle joints and the anterior and posterior joint lines of the hip joint of both legs. In addition, sham tapes will be applied to major postural muscles including the bilateral gluteus medius (i.e., crosses hip joint), quadriceps (i.e., crosses the knee joint), and gastrocnemius (i.e., crosses ankle joint) of the participants.

BEHAVIORAL

KT and sham TENS

KT (Kinesio Tex Gold) will be applied to major postural muscles including the bilateral gluteus medius (i.e., crosses hip joint), quadriceps (i.e., crosses the knee joint), and gastrocnemius (i.e., crosses ankle joint) of the participants. In addition, sham TENS will be applied on the medial and lateral joint lines of the knee and ankle joints and the anterior and posterior joint lines of the hip joint of both legs.

BEHAVIORAL

Sham TENS and sham taping

Sham TENS will be applied on the medial and lateral joint lines of the knee and ankle joints and the anterior and posterior joint lines of the hip joint of both legs. In addition, sham tapes will be applied to major postural muscles including the bilateral gluteus medius (i.e., crosses hip joint), quadriceps (i.e., crosses the knee joint), and gastrocnemius (i.e., crosses ankle joint) of the participants.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Hong Kong

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Shirley SM Fong, PhD · Chinese University of Hong Kong

Study Design

Allocation

NON_RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Model

FACTORIAL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Max Age

75 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2022-12-01

Primary Completion

2023-11-30

Completion

2023-11-30