Effects of elastic therapeutic taping on motor function in children with motor impairments: a systematic review

Background: The elastic therapeutic taping has been considered a promising resource for disabled children. Objective: To systematically review the evidence of the effects of elastic therapeutic taping on motor function in children with motor impairments. Method: Three independent evaluators conducted searches in electronic databases (MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, LILACS, BIREME/BVS, Science Direct, SciELO, and PEDro). Clinical studies design, published until 2016, involving elastic therapeutic taping and children aged 0-12 years with motor impairments were included. The variables considered were the methodological aspects (study design, participants, outcome measurements, and experimental conditions); results presented in the studies, and also the methodological quality of studies. Results: Final selection was composed by 12 manuscripts (five randomized controlled trials), published in the last 10 years. Among them, cerebral palsy (CP) was the most recurrent disorder (n=7), followed by congenital muscular torticollis (n=2) and brachial plexus palsy (n=2). Positive results were associated with taping application: improvement in the upper limb function, gross motor skills, postural control, muscular balance, and performance in the dynamics functional and daily activities. Limitations: Lower quality of the studies, clinical and population heterogeneity existed across studies. Conclusions: The elastic therapeutic taping has been shown to be a promising adjunct resource to the conventional rehabilitation in children with motor impairments. However, high methodological studies about its efficacy in this population are already scarce.