The Influence of Kinesio Taping on the Increase of Effort Tolerance in Patients after Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy

Abstract

Physiotherapy in patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (CHL) is impeded by post-operative pain which causes a decline in patients’ activity, reduces respiratory muscle function and affects patients’ ability to look after themselves. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of Kinesio Taping (KT) on the increase in effort tolerance in patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The task of the research was to compare results of 100-meter walk test in test group and control group before surgery, during and after physiotherapy. The research included 63 patients after CHL treated in General Surgery Department of Hospital in Nysa. Both test group (BA) and control group (KO) included randomly selected volunteers who met test qualification criteria. BA group consisted of 32 patients (26 females and 6 males), KO group consisted of 31 patients (22 females and 9 males). Both groups were subjected to complex physiotherapy and group BA had additional KT applications. The results were subjected to statistical analysis with the use of U MannWhitney test. The level of statistical significance was established at p < 0.05. The results showed that in the test conducted before surgery the level of median time recorded in the 100-meter test did not differ significantly between the two research groups. In further tests, the 100-meter walk test time was significantly shorter in the test group in comparison with the patients from the control group. Conclusion: The improvement in effort tolerance observed in the research indicates the efficiency of Kinesio Taping as a method complementing physiotherapy in patients after laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Keywords: Kinesio Taping, laparoscopic cholecystectomy, physiotherapy.