The effect of kineso tape application on mechanical back pain in pregnancy

Introduction Low back pain is one of the most common complaints of pregnancy. Low back pain during pregnancy, which has been known for a long time, has become an increasingly important problem since somtimes it might reach a level that affects daily activities. There are various treatment methods for low back pain during pregnancy. The main aim of all treatments is to reduce the severity of pain, to prevent loss of function and development of chronic pain. Treatment of the conditions includes health trainings to protect the waist and pelvis area, regular exercise programs, bed rest, pharmacological applications, use of specially shaped pillows, sacroiliac belts and pregnancy corsets, hot-cold application. Kinesio Tape (KT) is a non-pharmacologic, elastic therapeutic tape used to treat various problems such as injury, pain and loss of function, especially in the musculoskeletal system. KT has been studied in treatment of low back pain during pregnancy, but these studies do not cover the short and long term effects. In this study, we evaluated the short and long-term efficacy of KT. Aim The aim of this study, is to investigate the effectiveness of kinesio taping in pregnant women with low back pain Methods A randomized controlled study was conducted on pregnant women with mechanical low back pain who apply to Dokuz Eylül University Gynecology and Obstetrics Polyclinic. 90 pregnant women between the ages of 18-40, who had pain in the region from T12 vertebra to the glueteal fold and were between 20 and 35 weeks of gestation, accepted to participate in the study were included in the study. All participants were randomly divided into two equal groups in numbers as control group and intervention group. Exercise and kinesio tape were applied to the intervention group, and the exercise and sham protocol with kinesio tape was applied to the control group. Kinesio tape was applied to both groups at the first interview and was removed after 48-72 hours. After a break for 1 day, re-application was made and it was ripped off again 48-72 hours after the second application. Personal information form, numerical pain rating scale, Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire were administered to all individuals participating in the study. The two groups were evaluated comparatively according to the results of the Numerical Pain Rating Scale and the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire before the application, in the first week after the application, in the second week, and at the end of first month. The data of the research were evaluated in SPSS (Statical Package for Social Science for Windows 25.0) software. Findings The number of participants after randomization was 46 in the intervention group and 45 in the control group at the beginning, while at the end of the study, 45 people were included in the intervention group and 45 in the control group. While there was no statistically significant difference between the NRS and RMDQ scores of the intervention and control groups before the application, there was a statistically significant difference in favor of the intervention group in the 5th and 15th day NRS scores after the application. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in the 30th day NRS score. On the 5th day after the application, there was a statistically significant difference in RMDQ scores in favor of the intervention group. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in RMDQ scores on the 15th and 30th days. Results Low back pain during pregnancy is a common condition that significantly affects people's quality of life. In our study, it was found that kinesio tape application on low back pain during pregnancy is quite effective in a short term. However, more studies are needed on this subject in order to generalize this situation.