Effect of Kinesio taping on posture, balance and gait in spastic cerebral palsy – A systematic review

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a nonprogressive developmental disorder characterized by motor deficits, such as abnormal posture, balance, and gait impairments leading to deformities, affecting activities daily and, therefore, the quality of life. The application of Kinesio taping (KT) in patients with CP has emerged as a choice of adjunct treatment. Therefore the objective of this review was to evaluate the effectiveness of KT as an addition to conventional physiotherapy (CPT) interventions on posture, balance, and gait in spastic cerebral palsy. Materials and Methods: A bibliographic search was done in various databases. Only randomized controlled trials on KT in CP were included. The risk of bias in included studies was evaluated by using the RoB 2.0 tool. Downs and Black checklist was used to determine the overall quality of studies. Results: A total of five studies were eligible, out of which two studies reported a low risk of bias and three studies reported some concerns on RoB 2.0. The overall methodological quality of the studies ranged from fair to good. Out of five studies in three studies, KT was more effective as adjunct CPT than CPT alone on sitting posture, balance, and standing balance. In one study, KT was equally effective as ankle foot orthosis on gait. Lastly, one study showed a significant improvement with KT application over CPT alone, but the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation were more significant than KT on postural control and sitting. Conclusion: KT is a noninvasive, inexpensive, and compliant adjunct to physiotherapy in patients with spastic CP for better outcomes regarding posture, balance, and gait.