The Effect of Kinesio Taping on abdominal muscles disorders in Postpartum: A systematic review and Meta-analysis

Background: Hormonal and physiological changes during Pregnancy can affect the abdominal muscles. Rectus abdominal diastasis is often diagnosed in women during Pregnancy and after childbirth. This study aimed to determine the effect of Kinesio taping on Rectus abdominal diastasis postpartum. Methods PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, as well as a reference list of included studies, were searched until September 2022. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and quasi-RCT studies investigate the effect of Kinesio taping on Rectus abdominal diastasis in postpartum. In addition, Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.3 statistical software. Results Totally 146 articles were analyzed, of which four entered meta-analysis. The overall results of the meta-analysis of the primary outcome, that's means "the effect of Kinesio taping on Rectus abdominal diastasis," showed a statistically significant difference in improving IRD above the umbilical (MD: -0.24 (95% CI -0.33, -0.16; P  < 0.00001, I 2 = 89%) but at the level of the umbilical and below the umbilical results were not significant. Studies regarding the secondary outcome of the remaining four studies showed that KT effectively improved pain and low back dysfunction and decreased abdominal circumference size in postpartum women. Conclusions This meta-analysis showed that KT in combination with Exercise improves RAD better than other methods. This improvement is more significant above the umbilicus.