Effects of elastic therapeutic taping on motor function in children with motor impairments: a systematic review

Abstract

Background: The elastic therapeutic taping has been considered a promising resource for disabled children.Objective: To systematically review the evidence of the effects of elastic therapeutic taping on motor function in children with motor impairments.Method: Three independent evaluators conducted searches in electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, BIREME/BVS, Science Direct, SciELO, and PEDro). Clinical studies design, published until 2016, involving elastic therapeutic taping and children aged 0–12 years with motor impairments were included. The variables considered were the methodological aspects (study design, participants, outcome measurements, and experimental conditions); results presented in the studies, and also the methodological quality of studies.Results: Final selection was composed by 12 manuscripts (five randomized controlled trials), published in the last 10 years. Among them, cerebral palsy (CP) was the most recurrent disorder (n = 7), followed by congenital muscular torticollis (n = 2) and brachial plexus palsy (n = 2). Positive results were associated with taping application: improvement in the upper limb function, gross motor skills, postural control, muscular balance, and performance in the dynamics functional and daily activities.Limitations: Lower quality of the studies, clinical and population heterogeneity existed across studies.Conclusions: The elastic therapeutic taping has been shown to be a promising adjunct resource to the conventional rehabilitation in children with motor impairments. However, high methodological studies about its efficacy in this population are already scarce.Implications for RehabilitationElastic therapeutic taping has been shown to be a promising adjunct resource to the conventional rehabilitation in disabled children.Clinical trials have indicated improvement in the postural control and functional activities with both, upper and lower limbs, and increase in the functional independency resulting from the taping use.Randomized control trials and well-established protocols are needed to increase the confidence in applying elastic therapeutic taping to specific clinical conditions.