A retrospective study of Kinesio Taping in rectus abdominis diastasis treatment and abdominal circumference improvement in postpartum women

Abstract

Abstract Background: Rectus abdominis diastasis (RAD)is the key of rehabilitation in postpartum women. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical efficacy of Kinesio Taping (KT) in RAD treatment and abdominal changes. Methods:Medical records of women with RAD who received KT treatment at the hospital were reviewed. A total of 138 women were included and their demographic characteristics were reviewed, including data before and after RAD treatment, abdominal circumference at the umbilicus and above and below the umbilicus, distance from the xiphoid to the umbilicus, distance from the umbilicus to the pubic symphysis. Results: The width of RAD decreased from 4.58 ± 1.74 cm to 2.33 ± 0.90 cmafter KT treatment (t = P < 0.001) compared to before treatment. After treatment, the rates of women with normal, mild, moderate, and severe RAD were 28.1%, 44.6%, 26.6% and 0.7%, respectively, which showed statistical significance (P < 0.001). A statistically significant difference was observed in theabdominal circumference reduction at the umbilicus andabove and below umbilicus before and after KT treatment. However, no statistically significant difference was noted in terms of the changes in the distance from the umbilicus to the pubic symphysis. Astatistically significant difference was demonstrated between distance from the umbilicus to the pubicsymphysis and severity between cured and noncured groups. Conclusions: Preliminary analysis results showed a positive effect of KT treatment in the promotion of RAD recovery and improving abdominal circumference dimension. Furthermore, RAD was positively correlated with a lower abdominal circumference and anterior abdominal injury.