Comparative Effects of Kinesiotaping and Electrical Muscle Stimulation on Low Back Pain and Disability Associated with Diastasis Recti

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effects of Kinesio taping and electrical muscle stimulation on low back pain and disability associated with diastasis recti. METHODOLOGY: A randomized clinical trial was conducted on a sample size of 48 postpartum females of diastasis recti. All participants were randomly allocated to either the EMS group or the Kinesio Taping group for a total of 4 weeks. A protocol was followed, consisting of 3 sessions per week, each lasting 40 minutes, for both groups. The outcome was measured using the two-finger method to assess inter recti distance and manual muscle testing (MMT) for abdominal muscle strengthening, as well as the Numeric Pain Rating Scale (NPRS) for low back pain and the Ronald-Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMQ) for level of disability. RESULTS: The statistically significant p-value of MMT for the pre-treatment session of both groups was .013, post- treatment session value was .002, and in both groups, the p-value of NPRS for the pre-treatment session was 0.081 and the post-treatment value of .001, while the p-value of RMQ.105 for pre-treatment for both groups and .0000 for post-treatment, which shows a significant decrease in pain and disability level in both groups after taking the intervention. In both groups, the total IRD to measure inter-rectal distance was 4.00 at the pre-level and 3.00 at the post-level. CONCLUSION: The group receiving EMS shows more significant results in terms of improving low back pain, disability, and RA strength compared to the group receiving KT treatment.