Neuromuscular taping application opportunities in nursing: A literature review

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to identify nursing problems that can be assisted or resolved with neuromuscular taping, and to identify the characteristics of neuromuscular taping interventions in the field of nursing. Design: A narrative literature review. Methods: A journal search was conducted using the keywords “neuromuscular taping” to collect relevant articles published within the last five years from databases. The inclusion criteria were: randomized controlled trials, quasi-experimental or case reports, participants aged over 17 years, full text articles, studies focusing on nursing problems, and written in English. Twelve journal articles were selected and analyzed using PICO, PEDro scale, ROBINS-I tool, and Pierson score, with a domain/class approach, and list of nursing diagnoses. Results: The results of the literature review indicated that most studies were conducted in Europe with adults and seniors as participants. There were eight randomized controlled trials reports with PEDro scores in a range of 8-9; one quasi-experimental study with ROBINS-I scale in a range of 2; and three case reports with Pierson scores in a range of 9-10 for two articles, and 6-8 for another. All articles provided results which could help with nursing problems. Conclusion: Neuromuscular taping can be applied for acute pain, chronic pain, impaired physical mobility, impaired walking, fatigue, and risk for unstable blood pressure.