ADDITIONAL EFFECTS OF KINESIO-TAPING ALONG WITH CONSERVATIVE PHYSICAL THERAPY ON UPPER LIMB FUNCTION, RANGE OF MOTION, AND SPASTICITY IN PATIENTS WITH SUBACUTE STROKE

Abstract

Background and objective: According to the WHO, stroke is a condition characterized by rapidly developing clinical signs of focal (or global) disruption of cerebral function, lasting more than 24 hours or resulting in death, with no apparent cause other than vascular origin. Therefore, the study aimed to assess the additional effects of Kinesio-taping combined with conservative physical therapy on upper limb spasticity, range of motion, and function in patients with subacute stroke. Methodology: The study was a one-year (Dec 2023-Dec 2024) randomized controlled trial conducted at Leading Edge Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation in Islamabad on stroke patients. The sampling technique used was a convenience sampling method. Sample size was obtained through G-Power software, which was found to be 40. Out of which 4 were the dropouts, so a study was conducted on 36 patients aged 40-60 years with 1, 1+, and 2 MAS scores and were divided into two groups through the coin toss method of randomization. Data collection tools used for Elbow and wrist range of motion (ROM) were a goniometer, spasticity was assessed via the Modified Ashworth Scale, and upper limb motor function was evaluated using the Wolf Motor Function Test. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 21. This clinical trial registry allotted for this study was NCT06674057. Results: The results of the study included demographics such as the mean ± SD for age of the participants was 48.89±6.861, most of the participants were males, 19 (52.78%), and 17 (47.22%) were females. Normality of data was checked through the Shapiro-Wilk test. The data for ROM was normally distributed, while for MAS Score and WMFT, it was non-normally distributed. For within-group analysis Friedman Test was used for ROM, MAS score, and WMT. And, for between-group analyses, Mann Mann-Whitney U test was used for ROM, MAS score, and WMT. Results showed that within-group analysis for ROM, MAS Score, and Wolf Motor function test for both groups showed significant improvement (p-value<0.05), while between the conventional physical therapy and Kinesio taping group for ROM and Wolf Motor assessment test for upper limb function showed no significant improvement (p-value>0.05) while there was significant improvement in MAS score (p-value<0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that while both conventional physiotherapy and Kinesio Taping (KT) combined with physiotherapy led to significant improvements in upper limb function, range of motion (ROM), and spasticity in post-stroke patients, although no statistically significant differences were observed between groups in ROM or functional task performance (WMT), yet Kinesio-Taping does offer a greater advantage than conventional physical treatment alone in improving spasticity.