Kinesio Taping for Neurogenic Bowel Dysfunction in Spinal Cord Injury

Neurogenic bowel dysfunction is a common complication of spinal cord injury and may cause constipation, difficulty with defecation, prolonged bowel care, incomplete evacuation, fecal incontinence, and reduced quality of life. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of Kinesio Taping added to a routine bowel management program in adults with spinal cord injury and upper motor neuron-type neurogenic bowel dysfunction. Thirty participants will be randomly assigned to one of two parallel groups. The control group will receive a routine bowel management program, while the intervention group will receive Kinesio Taping in addition to the routine bowel management program. Kinesio Taping will be applied to the lower abdominal and lumbosacral regions three times per week for 4 weeks. The primary outcome will be defecation frequency recorded using a 7-day bowel diary. Secondary outcomes will include stool consistency, defecation duration, perceived constipation severity, neurogenic bowel dysfunction severity, and health-related quality of life. Assessments will be performed before and after the 4-week intervention.

Inclusion Criteria: * Adults aged 18 years or older with traumatic or nontraumatic spinal cord injury * Neurological level of injury at T12 or above * Upper motor neuron-type neurogenic bowel dysfunction * Duration of spinal cord injury longer than 6 months * Ability and willingness to provide written informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Age younger than 18 years * Neurological level of injury below T12 * Gastrointestinal disease diagnosed before the spinal cord injury, including irritable bowel syndrome or inflammatory bowel disease * History of conservative treatment for neurogenic bowel dysfunction within the previous 6 months * Colostomy or history of bowel surgery * Neurological disease other than spinal cord injury that may cause gastrointestinal or anal sphincter dysfunction * Cognitive impairment that may interfere with participation in the study