The effects of Kinesio taping and breathing exercises on pain management after gynaecological abdominal surgery: A randomized controlled study

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Kinesio taping and breathing exercises on pain management after gynaecological abdominal surgery. Methods: This randomized controlled study was conducted with 132 participants at a public hospital between June 2017 and 2018. The Kinesio taping method was applied once, immediately after the surgery during the hospital stay and breathing exercises were performed three times a day for 30 min on the first, second and third post-operative days. Results: The median age of the women was 47 years. The mean body mass index was 27.6 ± 5.0 kg/m2. When the intervention and control groups were compared, the level of women's pain in the Kinesio taping group was significantly reduced. There was also a statistically significant difference in terms of the passage of gas and defecation time and wound healing in groups with Kinesio taping. Conclusions: Kinesio taping has been shown to be an effective intervention in the management of acute pain after surgery. The results of this study suggest that future studies may be indicated to study taping in other surgical conditions.