The effects of Kinesio Taping on body functions and activity in unilateral spastic cerebral palsy: a single‐blind randomized controlled trial

Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Kinesio Taping ( KT ) on the body functions and activity of children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy ( CP ). Method This study was designed as a single‐blind, randomized, controlled trial. Thirty children with unilateral spastic CP were randomized and split equally between the KT group (eight males, seven females; mean age 9y [ SD 2y 3mo] range 7–12y) and the control group (seven males, eight females; mean age 9y 7mo [ SD 3y 4mo] range 7–14y) receiving usual care. All participants were evaluated with the Functional Independence Measure for Children (Wee FIM ), the Bruininks–Oseretsky Test of Motor Proficiency ( BOTMP ) , the Gross Motor Function Measure ( GMFM ), short‐term muscle power, agility and functional muscle strength tests. Wilcoxon signed‐rank and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to evaluate within and between‐group differences respectively. The level of significance was accepted as p <0.05. Results There were significant differences in muscle power sprint ( p =0.003), lateral step‐up test right ( p =0.016), sit to stand ( p =0.018), attain stand through half knee right ( p =0.003), BOTMP Gross scores ( p =0.019), and Wee FIM total ( p =0.003) and self‐care scores ( p =0.022) between the groups ( p <0.05). Interpretation Kinesio Taping is a promising additional approach to increase proprioceptive feedback and improve physical fitness, gross motor function, and activities of daily living in children with CP .