Adding kinesiotape to acupuncture did not improve pain, swelling, function, quality of life, or repeat sprains after acute lateral ankle sprain.
This multicentre randomised controlled trial enrolled adults with mild to moderate acute lateral ankle sprains and assigned them to receive either acupuncture alone or acupuncture plus kinesiotape. Both groups received daily acupuncture on weekdays for one week, while the combined-treatment group also received kinesiotape. Blinded assessors measured pain, swelling, ankle function, daily activities, quality of life, and subsequent ankle sprains over follow-up.
Both treatments were associated with improvement over time, but adding kinesiotape produced no meaningful advantage over acupuncture alone. Pain reduction, swelling, functional recovery, daily activity performance, quality of life, and recurrence of ankle sprains were comparable between the groups.
