671 - Kinesiology Taping for Chronic Non-Specific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

To evaluate the effectiveness of Kinesio taping (KT), standard therapy, and their combination in reducing pain and enhancing functional outcomes in individuals with chronic non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP).

Design: This Systematic Review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) 2020 Guidelines. Databases searched included Pubmed, Embase, Scopus, Cochrane, and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria required randomized control trials(RCTs) in English and Visual Analogue Scale(VAS) outcomes for pain measurement before and after intervention. Additionally, a sub-analysis was conducted to assess the effectiveness of KT in alleviating disability using the Oswestry Disability Index(ODI). Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID) analysis for VAS was used to assess the clinical significance of pain reduction for patients with CNSLBP.

Results:

2,033 articles were identified after an initial database inquiry, of which 661 were duplicates. Following title and abstract screening, an additional 1,252 articles were excluded. Of the 120 remaining, 18 articles were unretrievable, and 92 more were excluded after a full article review. The final 10 included studies were analyzed. 

VAS in the KT group and combined therapy groups did not achieve significant reductions but showed a large effect size, and MCID for VAS in the KT group was comparable to standard therapy. ODI showed a significant reduction in disability in standard therapy and combined therapy; however, the KT group alone was not significant.

Conclusions: KT is a promising modality for CNSLBP, and more high-quality RCTs that assess the pain and disability alleviation of KT alone and in conjugation with standard therapy are needed. A lack of combination therapy RCTs was a limiting factor; however, given the clinically comparable results of KT alone to standard therapy and the large effect size of KT alone and in combination therapy, clinicians should consider using KT as an adjunctive therapy.