Strapping on Subluxation of the Hemiplegic Shoulder: Effects of Elasticity Difference Strapped

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of elasticity difference in strapping therapy for 4 weeks in the patients with hemiplegic shoulder. METHOD: Total sixty-two patients with hemiplegic shoulder were randomly enrolled to three groups. In group I, two parts of a Y shaped first tape, were attached from humeral insertion of deltoid muscle to clavicle midline, following anterior and mid deltoid line, respectively, with 125% elasticity. And two parts of a Y shaped second tape were attached horizontally from head of greater tubercle to medial end of scapular spinous process, following supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles, respectively, with 125% elasticity. Group II patients were applied by the tape with 100% elasticity. Group III was control. The effects of strapping therapy were evaluated by using visual analogue scale (VAS), range of motion (ROM), vertical distance (VD), horizontal distance and joint distance on radiologic findings of plain anteroposterior view and lateral distance on shoulder ultrasonography which was examined between lateral border of acromion and greater tuberosity of humeral head, at entry, 14 and 28 days later. RESULTS: Repeated measured ANOVA indicated that the all groups of the VD showed corrective effect (p<0.05). And for early 14 days, reductions of VAS between the study group I and the other groups were meaningful at this study (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The strapping therapy is a useful therapeutic tool to decrease the degree of shoulder subluxation and to reduce pain in early rehabilitation therapy of patients with post-stroke hemiplegic subluxation.