Systematic review of the effectiveness of Kinesio taping for children with brachial plexus injury

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this systematic review was to investigate the effectiveness of Kinesio taping on upper limb motor function in children with brachial plexus injury. DATA SOURCES: Articles were identified through searches of the following databases: OVID, Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar, and the Cochrane library. METHODS: Studies were excluded if they were nonpeer-reviewed publications, opinion articles, or not reported in English. The methodological quality of the studies was assessed using the Methodological Index for Nonrandomized Studies. RESULTS: Five studies met our inclusion criteria. Two studies were included in the meta-analysis. A significant change was limited only to scapulothoracic internal rotation in three positions. CONCLUSIONS: Adding Kinesio taping to the physical therapy programme to manage children with brachial plexus injury is still questionable and may help functional improvement. However, this improvement may be limited depending on the technique or mode of application.