Efficacy of kinesio taping on upper limb volume reduction in patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

INTRODUCTION: One of the most common disabling complications in breast cancer (BC) patients is breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL), a pathological condition affecting both physical and psychological function, with detrimental consequences on health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). Rehabilitation has a key role in the comprehensive management of this condition with several studies reporting positive results after performing complex decongestive therapies (CDT) in these women. Kinesio taping (KT) is a rather recent therapeutic approach to treat BCRL, however, evidence in literature regarding its effectiveness is far from being fully characterized. Therefore, this systematic review aimed at assessing the role of KT among the CDT to treat BCRL. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were systematically searched from inception until May 5th, 2022 to de-termine randomized control trials (RCTs) reporting patients with BCRL; KT as intervention; limb volume as outcome (PROSPERO number: CRD42022349720). EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Out of the documents identified, 123 were eligible for data screening, and only 7 RCTs satisfied the eligibility criteria and were included. We found that KT might have a positive effect on limb volume reduction in patients with BCRL, albeit there is little evidence for low quality of the included studies. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, this systematic review showed that KT did not significantly reduce the upper limb volume in BCRL women, albeit it seemed to increase the flow rate during the passive exercise. Further high-quality-studies are mandatory to improve the knowledge in order to include the KT might into a multidisciplinary rehabilitative approach for the management of BC survivors affected by lymphedema. (Cite this article as: Marotta N, Lippi L, Ammendolia V, Calafiore D, Inzitari MT, Pinto M, et al. Efficacy of kinesio taping on upper limb volume re-duction in patients with breast cancer-related lymphedema: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Eur J Phys Rehabil Med 2023;59:237-47. DOI: 10.23736/S1973-9087.23.07752-3)

Automated summary

Background: Breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) is a common disabling complication in breast cancer patients, affecting physical and psychological function and reducing health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). Rehabilitation plays a key role in the management of BCRL, with complex decongestive therapies (CDT) showing positive results. Kinesio taping (KT) is a recent therapeutic approach for BCRL, but its effectiveness is not well-characterized. Objective: This systematic review aimed to assess the role of KT in CDT for BCRL. Results: KT may have a positive effect on reducing limb volume in BCRL patients, although the included studies had low-quality evidence. Conclusion: This review suggests that KT does not significantly reduce upper limb volume in BCRL women, but it may increase flow rate during passive exercise. Further high-quality studies are needed to better understand the role of KT in the rehabilitative management of BC survivors with lymphedema.