Immediate effects of kinesiotaping of the neck on lung function and respiratory muscle strength in stable COPD patients

Background. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is complicated by the presence of frequent and recurrent acute exacerbations. The patients are asymptomatic and stable in the early stages. They develop weakness of primary respiratory muscles and use accessory muscles which lead to postural changes. The forward head posture in the neck is very common in COPD patients due to increased usage of accessory muscles and aging changes. The objective of this study is to determine the immediate effect of Kinesiotaping on lung function and respiratory muscle strength in stable COPD patients and age matched healthy individuals. Methods. 20 stable COPD patients and 20 age matched asymptomatic participants were assessed for the pulmonary function test by Spiro lab machine and respiratory muscle strength using Micro RPM machine before applying the KT. The outcomes were repeated 30 minutes after applying the KT for correcting the forward head posture. The with-in group and between group comparison of the variables before and after the application of KT was done using student t-test. Results. A significant correlation was found in the baseline parameters of age (p = 0.011); PEF (p = 0.004) and physical activity levels (p = 0.039). The application of Kinesio tape proved to be beneficial by improving the lung and respiratory parameters of FVC (p = 0.002) and MEP (p = 0.22) among the COPD group. Conclusions. Our study concluded that, application of kinesio-tape can be an adjunct to conventional breathing exercises for COPD patients. There is improved lung function and reduced rate of perceived exertion after application of kinesio-tape.