Kinesiology Taping After Thoracotomy
Condition: Post Operative Pain; Thoracotomy; Pulmonary Function
MeSH terms: Pain, Postoperative
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Effective pain control after thoracotomy increases the patient's respiratory functions and
      related quality of life, reduces the length of hospital stay and the amount of analgesia use.
      Kinesiology taping has been used in sports injuries for many years and has been used in
      recent years to reduce pain after major surgery. This study was conducted to examine the
      effect of kinesiology taping on pain, respiratory function and respiratory muscle strength in
      patients who underwent thoracotomy.In this prospective randomized controlled experimental
      study, individuals between the ages of 20-75 who underwent thoracotomy with posterolateral
      thoracotomy and who agreed to participate in the study were included. Unlike the control
      group, kinesiology taping was applied to the study group for 7 days after surgery. Pain,
      respiratory functions, respiratory muscle strength, amount of analgesic drug use, and quality
      of life were evaluated preoperatively, postoperative day 0, before tape application,
      postoperative 1st day, postoperative 2nd day, postoperative 7th day and postoperative 1st
      month.
    

Detailed description: 
      There are few studies showing the efficacy of kinesio taping for alleviating postoperative
      pain. Kinesio taping reduces postoperative pain, functional activity impairment, analgesic
      drug use, and lymphedema. Kinesio taping can improve cough reflex, secretion excretion,
      inspiratory muscle strength and respiratory function.Kinesio taping has been used in sports
      injuries for many years and has been used in recent years to reduce pain after major surgery.
      The aim of this study is to examine the effect of kinesio taping on pain, respiratory
      function and respiratory muscle strength after thoracotomy.This study was conducted on
      patients who underwent posterolateral thoracotomy. Written informed consent was obtained from
      each patient. The study protocol was approved by the Clinical Research Ethics Committee. The
      study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.
      Patients were randomly assigned to 1:1 Kinesio taping group or control group using a
      computerized random number generator (GraphPad Software, San Diego, California) on
      postoperative day 0.The first group of the study consisted of patients in the Kinesio taping
      group, who underwent kinesio taping in addition to postoperative pulmonary rehabilitation and
      standard pain medication applications, and the second group consisted of patients in the
      control group, who underwent postoperative pulmonary rehabilitation and standard pain
      medication applications. On the postoperative 0th day, kinesiology taping was applied to the
      patients in the Kinesio taping group whose hemodynamic status was stable after extubation by
      an expert physiotherapist. The material we used for kinesio taping was Kinesio® Tex Gold™
      (Kinesio Holding Corporation, Albuquerque, NM, USA), a 100% cotton, latex-free, 5 cm wide
      elastic band. A The kinesio tape can stay for 3-4 days if the patient does not develop any
      discomfort. After 3-4 days, the tape was renewed. The bands were removed at 1 week
      postoperatively.

      The patients were followed from the preoperative period until discharge. For each patient,
      age, gender, weight and height measurements, educational status, type of surgery, whether
      there is any additional systemic disease, smoking, alcohol habits, medications they
      constantly use, previous operations, postoperative complications, surgical procedure,
      duration of operation, duration of anesthesia, Chest tube incision time and hospital stay
      were recorded.

      The G*power sample size calculator was used to determine the sample size of the study. A
      sample size of 35 subjects for each group was estimated, assuming sample size, 0.05 type I
      error rate (α) and 90% power (1-α). A total of 88 patients were included to avoid possible
      loss or exclusion. Statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS version 23 statistical
      software program (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL). In the comparisons between the two groups,
      Student's t test or Mann-Whitney U test was used. Chi-square test (Fisher exact test,
      2-tailed) was used to compare categorical variables. Two-way analysis of variance was used in
      repeated measures to evaluate the change over time of the measured variables of the treatment
      and control groups and the group-time interactions.
    

Intervention name(s): Kinesiology taping
Intervention type(s): Device
Intervention description(s): On the postoperative 0th day, kinesiology taping was applied to the patients in the study group whose hemodynamic status was stable after extubation by an expert physiotherapist. Investigators applied kinesiology taping as described below:
In order to stimulate the facilitation of the diaphragmatic function
Taping was applied to the latissimus dorsi and serratus anterior muscles, which were cut during the thoracotomy.
In addition, kinesiology taping can be performed on the trigger pain point of the patient .
After 3-4 days, the tape was renewed. Thus, taping was done twice for each patient. The bands were removed at 1 week postoperatively.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Participant)
Primary purpose: Prevention