Kinesio taping for oromotor dysfunction in children; a systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Abstract

Oromotor dysfunction like drooling swallowing sucking and chewing, is a collection of disorders that primarily impact sensory inputs, motor outputs, and the coordination of movements related to activities. This systematic review aimed to summarize the current evidence of the effects of kinesio taping (KT) on oromotor dysfunction in cerebral palsy children. This review followed the PRISMA guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted in PubMed, PEDro, Cochrane Library, Google Scholar and Embase for studies published in English between 2014 and 2025. Data was extracted by two independent reviewers and quality of included studies was assessed using PEDro scale. The level of evidence was classified according to modified sackett’s scale. 11 randomized control trials (RCTs) were included in this review. The mean PEDro score was 6.2 points. Analysis showed that KT has significant strong evidence on swallowing and sucking, and moderate evidence on drooling and chewing. The evidence of KT suggests strong effects on swallowing and sucking and moderate effects on drooling and chewing, however, these findings should be interpreted with cautions, particularly for sucking and chewing, due to the limited number of studies.