Effect of kinesio taping on low back pain during pregnancy: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Low back pain during pregnancy affects the normal daily activities of pregnant women to a certain extent. Current studies have shown that Kinesio Taping (KT) may be a treatment for low back pain during pregnancy, but there is still a lack of key evidence. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of KT in the treatment of low back pain during pregnancy. METHODS: PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Scopus, Embase, Wanfang Data, CNKI, and VIP databases were searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of the efficacy of KT intervention on low back pain in women during pregnancy. The retrieval time limit is from the establishment of the database to April 2021. Two researchers independently screened the literature, extracted the data, and evaluated the risk of bias in the included studies. Meta-analysis was performed using RevMan5.3 software. RESULTS: A total of 7 RCTs were included, including 444 patients. Meta-analysis results showed that: Compared with the control group, KT intervention could significantly improve low back pain and dysfunction, VAS score (− 1.62, 95%CI − 2.08 to − 1.16, P < 0.00001, I(2) = 77%), RMDQ score (− 1.00, 95%CI − 1.54 to − 0.46, P = 0.0003, I(2) = 80%); The results of the meta-analysis of the subgroup showed that compared with the control group, the KT intervention was less than or equal to 1 week, and the waist pain and dysfunction were improved, with statistically significant differences. The difference in the improvement of low back pain was statistically significant after KT intervention for more than 1 week, but there was no statistically significant difference in RMDQ score (− 1.25, 95%CI − 2.66 to 0.15, P = 0.08, I(2) =77%). Compared with the control group, KT intervention improved low back pain in the second and third trimesters, and the difference was statistically significant. CONCLUSION: KT has a positive effect on the improvement of low back pain during pregnancy, KT intervention can significantly improve pregnant women’s low back pain and dysfunction problems, improve the quality of life. It is suggested that future research should focus on the prevention and treatment of low back pain during pregnancy to provide more research data for improving women’s health. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12884-021-04197-3.