The Use of the Thoracoabdominal Rebalancing Method (RTA) in Pediatric Patients with Respiratory Disorders: A Scoping Review

This is a scoping review to address and understand the state of the art regarding the use of the Thoracoabdominal Rebalancing (TAR) method in pediatric patients with respiratory disorders. The method is a manual therapy that aims to rehabilitate the respiratory system in order to promote improved pulmonary ventilation in the patient, alignment of the respiratory muscles, and removal of secretions from the airways. Although designed for the pediatric and hospital context, this resource is now widely used at all levels of health care, as well as for diverse populations. As a result, it is possible to find several studies on the method in different clinical conditions, but reviews of any kind that enable the organization of findings are still scarce in the literature. This scoping review is guided by the JBI method and the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR), together with the adoption of the PCC strategy to assist in defining the objectives of this research. All information about the protocol of this review is duly registered on this platform (OSF – Open Science Framework). This study aims to understand the state of the art regarding the method in the suggested areas, in order to highlight the extent of its application and the available evidence, as well as to provide directions for future clinical studies. Furthermore, its publication and wide dissemination to the scientific community is also expected.