Effects of KT on pain and swelling in patients after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR): A critical review

Abstract

Background: There is a need in the rehabilitation field to keep pace with the high rate of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) in recent years. Kinesio tape (KT) is an intervention that is believed to have a number of effects, such as controlling pain and swelling. The aim of this review is to evaluate the available evidence in regard to the efficacy of KT in pain and swelling after ACLR. Methods: A literature search was performed using PEDro and CENTRAL, MEDLINE, PubMed, AMED and CINAHL. The search was limited to studies in English that were published between January 2008 and July 2021.This review only included randomized control trials (RCTs) that measured the effect of KT on pain or swelling in the acute phase after ACLR, and the participants were aged between 18 and 64 years. The CASP and PEDro scales were used to evaluate the methodological quality of the studies. Results: After the removal of duplicates, 148 articles were screened, of which only four RCTs involving 146 patients fulfilled the selection criteria. The methodological scores ranged from low to excellent quality on the PEDro scale. For the CASP scale, all the studies were of medium quality. All included studies compared standard rehabilitation protocols with and without KT. All studies concluded that KT had a positive effect on pain or swelling. Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence to support the use of KT for controlling pain and swelling in the acute phase after ACLR. There is a need for high-quality studies that avoid the methodological errors that were evident in the included studies.