Kinesiotape and Dysphagia

Effectiveness of Kinesiotape on Children With Cerebral Palsy and Oropharyngeal Dysphagia

Dysphagia is common problem in almost all children with cerebral palsy (CP) and there is no consensus about to dysphagia therapy modalities.We aimed to investigate the short- and long-term effects of kinesio taping (KT) on dysphagia in children with CP.

There is a few studies for the effectiveness of KT application in the treatment of dysphagia and its effectiveness is controversial. These small-scale studies conducted to improve control of drooling in the oral phase of swallowing in CP. However, there are no studies that have evaluated swallowing as a whole. Moreover, there is a need to carry out studies evaluating the efficacy of KT in dysphagia treatment with a high level of evidence and duration of effectivenes for a period longer than 3 months. This study is designed to answer the following research questions: "Is KT application effective in the treatment of dysphagia in CP?" ''If it is effective, whether the effect of KT therapy persists more than 3 months''.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Children between the ages of 2 and 6 years who had oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) symptom and/or finding and were subsequently hospitalized and rehabilitated were included in this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Patients with history of maxillary, head or neck surgery or botulinum toxin injection, structural oropharyngeal abnormality, known esophageal dysphagia and/or gastroesophageal reflux disease, who were received medical and/or physical therapy for dysphagia in the last 6 months, using drugs for seizures or spasticity as well as no oral intake and tube dependent completely for feeding were not included.