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Introduction: Neck pain constitutes a prevalent and burdensome health issue, substantially impairing patients' quality of life and functional capabilities. Kinesio taping (KT), a commonly employed intervention within physical therapy, holds promise for mitigating such symptoms; however, a comprehensive evaluation of its efficacy and evidence base is lacking. Therefore, this study endeavors to systematically investigate the therapeutic effects of KT on both subjective neck pain intensity and objective measures of physical activity limitations through a rigorous meta-analytic approach. By synthesizing existing literature and scrutinizing methodological nuances, we aim to furnish healthcare practitioners with evidence-informed insights, facilitating more judicious clinical decision-making and optimizing patient outcomes. Methods: According to the PRISMA guidelines, we conducted searches on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and Web of Science for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the efficacy of KT in treating neck pain. Screening was performed based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Characteristics of the included RCTs were extracted. Trial heterogeneity was assessed using the I2 statistic. Meta-analysis was conducted using Stata 17 software. Risk of bias and methodological quality were evaluated using the Cochrane Risk of Bias 2 tool and the PEDro scale, respectively. Results: In our analysis of 10 RCTs involving 620 patients meeting our inclusion criteria, KT demonstrated significant beneficial effects on neck pain, notably surpassing conventional treatment (weighted mean difference = −0.897, 95% CI −1.30 to −0.49, P < 0.001). Subgroup analysis further revealed that KT exhibited particularly pronounced efficacy in the treatment of nonspecific neck pain and mechanical neck pain, with a more substantial effect observed after 4 weeks of KT intervention compared to 1 week. Moreover, KT demonstrated superior efficacy in alleviating pain symptoms compared to both conventional treatment and sham interventions. Conclusion: KT has demonstrated efficacy in reducing neck pain and improving cervical dysfunction among patients. Prolonged KT treatment or its combination with other therapeutic modalities may potentially enhance therapeutic outcomes. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO CRD42024524685. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Frozen shoulder is a very common musculoskeletal condition and the evidence related to the additional effects of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) with intra-articular (IA) lidocaine injection in individuals with frozen shoulder is rare. Therefore, this study aims to compare and investigate the additional effects of extracorporeal shockwave therapy (ESWT) with intra-articular (IA) lidocaine injection in a frozen shoulder. Methods: Sixty eligible participants with frozen shoulder were included and the active group (n = 30, age 52.12 ± 5.2 years) received a lidocaine injection (1% lidocaine (Xylocaine) and 2cc (80 mg) methylprednisolone acetate) with active ESWT (3.5 bar air pressure and 2000 pulses with an energy flux density (EFD) ¼ 0.16 mJ/mm2) three sessions a week for 4 weeks. The placebo group (n = 30, age 53.56 ± 5.5 years) received lidocaine injection with placebo treatment (a special head that blocked the shock waves) three sessions a week for 4 weeks. Both groups received progressive resistance exercises (PRE) to the shoulder muscles. The primary outcome was pain intensity, measured with the visual analogue scale. The other outcome measures were the thickness of the coracohumeral ligament (CHL) measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), abduction, and lateral rotation range of motion (ROM), functional disability, kinesiophobia, depression status, and quality of life. Participants were assessed at baseline, after 4 weeks, 8 weeks, and at 6-month follow-up. Results: The post-intervention at 4 weeks showed an improvement of 2.0 (CI 95% 1.71–2.28) in the active group compared to the placebo group. Similar effects were noted after 8 weeks (2.2) (CI 95% 1.91–2.48) and at the 6-month (1.9) (CI 95% 1.61–2.18) follow-up. Similar improvements were also found in the thickness of the CHL ligament (0.6) (CI 95% 0.46–0.73), abduction and lateral rotation (ROM) (– 23.6) (CI 95% – 27.47 to -19.72), (- 18.10) (CI 95% – 19.72 to – 16.47), functional disability (16.2) (CI 95% 14.85–17.54), kinesiophobia (11.0 (CI 95% 10.21–11.98), depression status (4.4) (CI 95% 4.03–4.76) and quality of life (0.9) (CI 95% 0.79–1.00) (p = 0.001) at the 6-month follow-up period, where mean estimates and their confidence intervals all included worthwhile effects. There were no adverse reactions or side effects noted in either the active or placebo groups during and after the treatment. Conclusions: The study concluded that the addition of extracorporeal shockwave therapy after intra-articular lidocaine injection improves pain, functional disability, range of motion, kinesiophobia, depression status, and quality of life in people with frozen shoulder. Trial Registration: https://ctri.nic.in, identifier; CTRI/2020/04/024834 prospectively registered on 24/04/2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]