The Effectiveness of Kinesiologic Taping in Patients With Knee Rheumatoid Arthritis

The Effectiveness of Kinesiologic Taping in Patients With Knee Rheumatoid Arthritis in Terms of Pain, Function, and Kinesiophobia: A Randomised Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if kinesiologic taping works to treat individuals with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The main questions it aim to answer:

• Is kinesiologic taping applied to the knee joint an effective treatment for pain, mobility, and kinesiophobia in individuals diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis?
• Which is more effective? Kinesiologic taping or non-therapeutic sham taping? Which is better for pain, functional capacity, kinesiophobia and disease activity? Researchers will compare kinesiologic taping and non-therapeutic sham taping . Patients will be randomly divided into groups. The first group of patients was treated with sham taping, and the application period was applied consecutively for 4 weeks, with a minimum interval of 3 days and a maximum interval of 5 days. Group 2 patients underwent kinesiological taping, with the application period ranging from 3 to 5 days per week for 4 consecutive weeks.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients aged 45 to 60
• Patients diagnosed with acute or chronic rheumatoid arthritis;
• Patients whose rheumatic medication protocol has not changed in the last 3 months; -Patients who do not smoke, drink alcohol or use drugs;
• Patients who have no vision, hearing or speech problems;
• Patients who are not amputees;
• Patients who can walk independently.

Exclusion Criteria:

• individuals over the age of 61;
• individuals with neurological disorders, severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, liver or kidney failure, malignancies, uncontrolled diabetes mellitus, major psychiatric disorders, or pregnancy; and those with concomitant conditions that could cause balance problems.
• Pregnant and breastfeeding women;
• individuals who had undergone surgery in the last few months;
• patients with loss of cooperation (e.g., those diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease) were also excluded from the study.