Kinesio Taping Versus Oromotor Training on Drooling in Children with Spastic Cerebral Palsy: Comparative Study

Abstract

Background: Children with cerebral palsy (CP) frequently have sustained drooling, which leads to feeding difficulties and social affection. Oral motor (OM) exercises and kinesio taping (KT) are treatment options described for management of drooling. Objective: The aim of the current work was to compare between the effectiveness of KT versus OM training for improving drooling in children with spastic CP. Patients and Methods: This study included 24 children of both gender with spastic CP, aged 4 to 8 years. They were selected according to specific eligibility criteria and were randomly allocated into Kinesio taping (KT) group (n=12) and oromotor (OM) group (n=12). The KT group received Kinesio taping application on orbicularis oris muscle, while the OM group received oral motor exercise program. Both groups received intervention 3 times/week for successive 2 months. Assessment of drooling severity and frequency by using the 5-minute drooling quotient (DQ) and drooling severity and frequency scale (DSFS). Data were collected at the baseline and the end of intervention. Data were statistically analyzed and compared. Results: Comparison of pre-and post-treatment mean values of all measured variables showed significant improvement for children of both KT and OM groups. The post treatment results showed that OM training is more effective than KT in decreasing drooling severity and frequency. Conclusion: Although both OM exercises and KT application are effective in improving drooling in children with spastic CP; OM training is proven to be more effective than KT when used as a standalone treatment.