lack of functional ability in the upper extremities after stroke restricts usage , and 
 causes asymmetric posture and contracture in daily life , thus exacerbating functional 
 limitations of the upper limbs1 .
the 
 functional recovery period of the upper limbs in patients with hemiplegia is estimated to be 
 11 weeks after stroke . however , if there is no functional improvement with intensive 
 treatment in this period , it is difficult to expect better prognosis or improvement2 .
previous studies demonstrate that applying 
 kinesiology tape in the same direction as the muscle fibers facilitates muscle function3 , while perpendicular application inhibits 
 muscle function4 .
however , there is no 
 report on the influence of taping with respect to a neurophysiologic background .
thus , 
 additional in - depth quantitative studies about the effects of taping on balance , gait , 
 injury prevention , strength , range of motion , and proprioception are required to confirm its 
 clinical efficacy .
therefore , this study determined the effects of kinesiology taping on 
 upper - extremity function and activities of daily living ( adl ) in patients with hemiplegia . 

this study involved an alternative medicine intervention in order to demonstrate whether 
 taping improves movement dysfunction after stroke .
thus , the results will provide 
 fundamental data for the application of this technique in clinical practice .
this study was conducted from june 4 to december 22 , 2012 on 30 post - stroke patients who 
 were hospitalized in a rehabilitation hospital in chungcheong province , south korea .
the patients in the experimental group ( eg , 
 n = 15 ) and control group ( cg , n = 15 ) performed task 
 practice with and without 3ns kinesiology taping , respectively .
the inclusion criteria were 
 as follows : post - stroke hemiplegia , at least 6 months since onset , and ability to 
 communicate and understand instructions .
meanwhile , patients with peripheral neuropathy , 
 musculoskeletal disease , or dementia were excluded .
all patients provided written informed 
 consent to participate in the study prior to its commencement .
the intervention was performed for 30 minutes , 3 
 times per week for 28 weeks for a total of 84 sessions .
the patients practiced tasks as per the researcher s instructions , while 
 sitting on a comfortable chair .
the task practices included wiping a table with a towel , 
 putting a block into a box , and stacking cups .
taping of the deltoid muscle taping of the quadratus lumborum muscle for the anterior aspect of the middle deltoid , the patient extended their arm and performed 
 slight external rotation ; then , the therapist placed the tape on the region from the humerus 
 prominence to the coracoid process .
for the posterior aspect of the middle deltoid , the 
 patient placed the affected side of the hand on the opposite side of the acromion process , 
 and the tape was placed on the region from the humerus prominence to the lateral third of 
 the scapular spine . for the lateral portion of the quadratus lumborum
, the tape was applied 
 from the posterior superior iliac spine to the 12th rib while the trunk was bent laterally 
 to the unaffected side . for the medial portion of the quadratus lumborum ,
the tape was 
 placed from the posterior superior iliac spine along the transverse processes of the lumbar 
 vertebrae while the trunk was bent forward .
upper - extremity function and adl were assessed 
 by using the manual function test ( mft)5 , 
 modified motor assessment scale ( mmas)6 , 
 brunnstrom recovery stage7 , and functional 
 independence measure ( fim)8 .
chicago , ll , usa ) . the 
  test was used to analyze the general characteristics of the patients . 
 because the kolmogorov - smirnov test indicated the data were not normallydistributed ,
the 
 wilcoxon signed - ranked test and mann - whitney u - test were used to determine 
 intra- and intergroup differences , respectively .
the  level was set at = 0.05 , and the level of significance was set at p 
 < 0.05 .
the eg comprised 8 women and 7 ; 8 and 7 patients had right and left hemiplegia , 
 respectively .
meanwhile , the cg comprised 9 women and 6 men ; similar to the eg , 8 and 7 
 patients had right and left hemiplegia , respectively .
the mean ages of the eg and cg were 
 69.20  7.07 and 67.33  9.50  years respectively .
there were no significant differences in 
 the general characteristics between groups . however , the mft and mmas results differed 
 significantly after the intervention in both groups ( eg : 22.47  6.55 and , 13.87  5.06 ; cg : 
 21.33  6.23 and , 13.80  5.25 , respectively ) . however , there were no significant 
 differences between groups pre- or post - intervention .
there was no significant change in the 
 brunnstrom recovery stage of the hand after the intervention in either group , but the meanof 
 post - intervention score tended to be higher in the eg . however , post - intervention , the fim 
 changed significantly within each group and differed significantly between groups ( table 1table 1.changes in upper - limb function and activities of daily living ( n 
 = 30)mftmmasbrshfimprepostprepostprepostpreposteg ( n = 15)16.40  5.8522.47  6.55 9.87  4.3713.87  5.065.13  1.305.27  1.3383.73  16.03 90.53  16.65cg ( n = 15 ) 19.80  6.0521.33  6.23 12.60  5.19 13.80  5.255.40  1.245.40  1.24 77.13  16.6678.40  16.62p < 0.01 within a group , p < 0.05 between groups .
eg : 
 experimental group ; cg : control group , mft : manual functional test ; mmas : manual motor 
 assessment scale ; brsh : brunnstrom recovery stage of the hand ; fim : functional 
 impairment movement ) .
eg : 
 experimental group ; cg : control group , mft : manual functional test ; mmas : manual motor 
 assessment scale ; brsh : brunnstrom recovery stage of the hand ; fim : functional 
 impairment movement
a previous study evaluating the effects of kinesiology taping indicates that applying tape 
 to the affected upper limbs of post - stroke patients reduces spasms , resulting in improved 
 range of motion , strength , and function9 . 

another study reports that muscle recruitment patterns can be altered because of better 
 proprioception by stimulating mechanoreceptors10 . in the present study ,
this indicates that task practice positively influenced 
 upper - extremity function , regardless of taping .
this suggests that applying tape can improve the restricted coordinated movement 
 of joints in the upper extremities because of dysfunction of normal movement reflex , 
 diminished coordination , and integration of motor control and disconnection between the 
 muscles in the upper extremities and trunk ; this results in improved upper - limb movement . 
 because adl involve interactions among several elements such as joints , muscles , sensory 
 inputs , and nerves , the assessment of adl is crucial to determine the condition of patients 
 with a brain injury11 . in the present 
 study ,
this indicates that 
 applying tape to the shoulder and lumbar region improves postural control and shoulder 
 girdle stability .
however , 
 there was no significant difference in the brunnstrom recovery stage of the hand either 
 within each group or between the groups .
this demonstrates that taping does not affect the 
 control of muscle tone or coordination in the distal part of the upper extremities . 

furthermore , limited ability in manipulation did not improve prior to the recovery of the 
 movement and stability in the proximal part of the upper limbs . even if patients with 
 hemiplegia can reach with their arm to grasp an object ,
they can not do so because of an 
 inability to manipulate the object using their hands .
thus , they have more restrictions for 
 using the affected upper limb and will therefore have fewer opportunities to use it12 .
this may be why patients with hemiplegia 
 use support for their disabled hand or are unable to use it at all .
consequently , such 
 patients experience many life difficulties after their stroke , because the functions of the 
 upper limbs and hands are vital for adl .
future studies should perform surface 
 electromyography to verify that muscles affected by taping regain strength after the 
 intervention .
 [ purpose ] this study determined the effects of kinesiology taping on the upper - extremity 
 function and activities of daily living of patients with hemiplegia . [ subjects ] the 
 experimental group and control group comprised 15 hemiplegia patients each . [ methods ] this 
 study was performed from june 4 to december 22 , 2012 , involving 30 hemiplegia patients . 
 
 the experimental and controls groups performed task practices for 30 minutes , 3 times per 
 week for 28 weeks with and without taping , respectively . [ results ] after treatment , there 
 were significant differences in every outcome measures within each group except for the 
 brunnstrom recovery stage of the hand . 
 however , there was a significant difference in 
 functional independence movements between the groups . 
 [ conclusion ] task practice has the 
 same effectiveness regardless of the taping of the upper extremities . 
 nevertheless , taping 
 is helpful for improving both the functions and activities of daily living in patients 
 with hemiplegia . 