Kinesio Taping for Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction in Spinal Cord Injury

ConditionsNeurogenic Bowel Dysfunction Spinal Cord Injury

Trial statusNot yet recruiting

Trial phaseNot applicable

Trial typeInterventional

Biological sexAll

Age18+

SponsorPamukkale University

About this trial

Neurogenic bowel dysfunction is a common complication of spinal cord injury and may cause constipation, difficulty with defecation, prolonged bowel care, incomplete evacuation, fecal incontinence, and reduced quality of life. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Kinesio Taping added to a routine bowel management program in adults with spinal cord injury and upper motor neuron-type neurogenic bowel dysfunction.

Thirty participants will be randomly assigned to one of two parallel groups. The control group will receive a routine bowel management program, while the intervention group will receive Kinesio Taping in addition to the routine bowel management program. Kinesio Taping will be applied to the lower abdominal and lumbosacral regions three times per week for 4 weeks.

The primary outcome will be defecation frequency recorded using a 7-day bowel diary. Secondary outcomes will include stool consistency, defecation duration, perceived constipation severity, neurogenic bowel dysfunction severity, and health-related quality of life. Assessments will be performed before and after the 4-week intervention.

Eligibility criteria

This trial does not accept healthy volunteers

Qualifiers

Adults aged 18 years or older with traumatic or nontraumatic spinal cord injury

Neurological level of injury at T12 or above

Upper motor neuron-type neurogenic bowel dysfunction

Duration of spinal cord injury longer than 6 months

Disqualifiers

Age younger than 18 years

Neurological level of injury below T12

Gastrointestinal disease diagnosed before the spinal cord injury, including irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease

History of conservative treatment for neurogenic bowel dysfunction within the previous 6 months

Trial design

Design model

Parallel

Treatments tested in this trial

Kinesio Taping
Other intervention
Kinesio Taping will be applied to the lower abdominal and lumbosacral regions three times per week for 4 weeks. The tape will remain in place for 2 days and will be removed before the next treatment session. A star-shaped correction technique will be applied to the lumbosacral region with 25%-50% tension. An I-shaped correction technique will be applied to the lower abdominal region between the right and left anterior superior iliac spines. No tension will be applied to the ends of the tape.
Routine Bowel Management Program
Behavioral
Participants will receive an individualized routine bowel management program based on their clinical condition for 4 weeks. The program may include scheduled bowel care, dietary and fluid recommendations, appropriate positioning, physical activity, abdominal massage, rectal evacuation techniques, suppositories, enemas, and oral or rectal laxatives when clinically indicated. Participants will be instructed not to change their usual dietary habits during the study period.

Treatment groups

30 Participants

are divided into 2 treatment groups

Group A: Routine Bowel Management ProgramActive comparator 1 intervention

Group B: Kinesio Taping Plus Routine Bowel Management ProgramExperimental treatment 2 interventions

Trial outcomes

Primary outcomes

Change in Defecation Frequency

Defecation frequency will be recorded using a 7-day bowel diary and expressed as the total number of defecations during a 7-day period. Higher values indicate more frequent bowel movements.

Time frame