The effects of cervical kinesiotaping on neck pain, range of motion, and disability in patients following thyroidectomy: a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled clinical trial

Abstract

Background/aim: This was a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study.Thyroidectomy is a frequently performed surgical procedure and head and neck extension during this operation facilitates surgery. Patients may experience postoperative neck pain and cervical range of motion (ROM) limitation due to the surgical position following thyroidectomy. It was aimed herein to investigate the short-term effects of kinesiotaping(KT) applied to the cervical spine on neck pain, ROM, and disability in patients following thyroidectomy. Materials and methods: A total of 74 patients were randomly assigned to be treated with either KT (Group 1, n = 37) or sham taping (Group 2, n = 37) using a computer-generated random number list. Neck pain, cervical ROM, and neck disability were evaluated with a visual analog scale (VAS), inclinometer, and the Neck Disability Index (NDI) questionnaire, respectively. Results: There were no significant differences with respect to age, sex, educational background, or body mass index between the groups.While there were no significant differences with respect to improvement of the VAS and change of the ROM and NDI values between the groups, patients in Group 1 needed less paracetamol than patients in Group 2 (P = 0.011). Conclusion: This study showed that cervical KT application following thyroidectomy does not have a positive effect on neck pain, ROM, or disability, but nonetheless, it reduces analgesic consumption.