• Shanshan Lin, Bo Zhu, Guozhi Huang, Chuhuai Wang, Qing Zeng, and Shanshan Zhang.
• Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
• Phys Ther. 2020 Feb 7; 100 (2): 238-254.

BackgroundLow back pain (LBP) is a very common and disabling disorder in modern society. The intervention strategies for LBP include drug therapy, surgery, and physical interventions. Recently, kinesiotaping, as a simple and noninvasive treatment, has been used to treat chronic nonspecific LBP, but its effectiveness and true merit remains unclear.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to summarize the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of kinesiotaping (KT) for chronic nonspecific low back pain (CNLBP) and disability.Data SourcesMedline, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Web of Science, and EmBase were searched from inception to September 1, 2018.Study SelectionStudies were included in the review if they met the following criteria: RCTs published in English; patients (>18 years old) diagnosed with CNLBP (pain duration of > 12 weeks), with or without leg pain; KT as a single treatment or as a part of other forms of physical therapy; outcomes measured included pain intensity and disability.Data ExtractionThree independent investigators completed data extraction. Methodological quality was appraised using the Cochrane tool for assessing the risk of bias. The GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation) guidelines were applied to assess the confidence of the effect estimates.Data SynthesisEleven RCT studies involving 785 patients were retained for the meta-analysis.Standardized mean differences (SMDs) with 95% CIs were calculated using a random-effects model. Compared with the control group， the pooled SMD of pain intensity was significantly reduced (SMD = -0.73; 95% CI = -1.12 to -0.35; GRADE: low) and disability was improved (SMD = -0.51; 95% CI = -0.85 to -0.17; GRADE: low) in the KT group. Subgroup analyses showed that, compared with the control, the I strip of KT significantly reduced pain (SMD = -0.48; GRADE: low) but not disability (SMD = -0.26; GRADE: low). Compared with sham/placebo tape, KT provided significant pain reduction (SMD = -0.84; GRADE: low) and disability improvement (SMD = -0.56; GRADE: low). Moreover, compared with the no-tape group, the KT group also showed pain reduction (SMD = -0.74; GRADE: low) and disability improvement (SMD = -0.65; GRADE: low).LimitationsLimitations of the review included a lack of homogeneity, different methodologies and treatment duration of KT application, and relatively small sample sizes.ConclusionsThere is low-quality evidence that KT has a beneficial role in pain reduction and disability improvement for patients with CNLBP. More high-quality studies are required to confirm the effects of KT on CNLBP.© 2019 American Physical Therapy Association.

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