Shoulder taping reduces injury and pain in stroke patients: randomized controlled trial

We aimed to study the effectiveness of shoulder taping and conventional treatment vs sham taping and conventional treatment in prevention of shoulder injuries in patients with acute stroke.

This study was a multicenter, interventional, prospective, randomized, outcome-blinded trial (PROBE design). All first-ever stroke patients were included within 48 hours of stroke onset (August 2009-October 2011). The treatment group included shoulder taping and conventional treatment, and the control group received sham taping and conventional treatment. Primary outcomes were changes in visual analog scale (VAS) and shoulder pain and disability index (SPADI), and secondary outcomes were changes in shoulder range of motion (flexion and abduction) at days 14 and 30. Clinical trials registration no. NCT 01062308.

There were 80 patients in the treatment arm and 82 in the control arm. There was a better reduction of VAS (on day 14: mean difference 3.7 mm, p = 0.45; on day 30: 11.9 mm, p = 0.03) and SPADI scores (on day 14: mean difference 3.5, p = 0.33; on day 30: 9.3, p = 0.04) in the treatment arm.

Although there was a trend toward pain reduction and functional improvement associated with shoulder taping for 2 weeks after acute stage of stroke, this did not reach statistical significance. The long-term effects of taping need to be studied in large trials.

This study provided Class III evidence that tri-pull shoulder taping was ineffective in significantly reducing shoulder pain in patients with acute stoke.