Efficacy of combined Kinesio-taping with chest physiotherapy program on pain, pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength and quality of life after mastectomy: a randomized controlled trial

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Objectives This study aimed to assess the effects of incorporating Kinesio-taping (KT) into a chest physical therapy program on alleviating pain and enhancing pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, and quality of life following mastectomy. Design This was a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Setting Physiotherapy outpatient clinic. Participants Sixty participants aged 30–50 years who had undergone modified radical mastectomy were randomly allocated to either the Kinesio-taping or traditional physical therapy exercise group. Intervention The Kinesio-taping group received both Kinesio-taping and traditional chest physiotherapy. The control group received only the traditional chest physiotherapy program. The interventions were administered over a 4-week period. Outcome measures The primary outcome measure was pain, which was evaluated using a visual analogue scale (VAS). Secondary outcomes included pulmonary function, specifically forced vital capacity (FVC) and forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), assessed via spirometry; respiratory muscle strength, determined by measuring maximal inspiratory pressure (MIP) and maximal expiratory pressure (MEP) using a portable pressure device; and quality of life, assessed using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) questionnaire. All outcomes were measured at baseline and 4 weeks after the intervention. Results The evaluated parameters exhibited significant alterations between the pre- and post-intervention after a duration of 4 weeks in both groups. The results indicated a significant changes ( p < 0.001) in post-intervention measures compared to pre-intervention measures in both groups. No significant differences were observed between the groups before the intervention. The KT group demonstrated superior postintervention outcomes. Specifically, the KT group showed a significant reduction in VAS scores post-intervention than the control group (3.97 ± 1.65 vs. 6.50 ± 1.57, p < 0.001). Post-intervention, the KT group exhibited significantly higher values ( p < 0.001) of FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC (3.52 ± 0.64 L, 2.95 ± 0.56 L, and 85.09 ± 12.07%) compared to the control group (2.38 ± 0.56 L, 1.74 ± 0.54 L, and 72.39 ± 10.82%), respectively. Additionally, post-intervention MIP and MEP values were significantly higher ( p < 0.001) in the KT group. Conclusion Integrating Kinesio-taping into a standard chest physiotherapy program significantly reduced pain and enhanced pulmonary function, respiratory muscle strength, and quality of life in post-mastectomy patients compared to the application of traditional chest physiotherapy alone. Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov , identifier NCT06701591.