Effects of shoulder strapping in patients with stroke: A randomised control trial.
Nicolette Comley-White, Witness Mudzi, Eustasius Musenge
PMID 30214946WHAT IT FOUND
Shoulder strapping did not significantly improve pain, subluxation, tone, or motor function compared to standard care.
While some non-significant trends favoured longitudinal strapping, the trial found no statistical evidence that either strapping technique changes clinical outcomes in stroke patients.
Key findings
01None of the changes in outcomes reached statistical significance when comparing longitudinal strapping to the control group.
02There were no statistically significant changes in outcomes for circumferential strapping versus the control participants.
03Overall, no significant differences were found among the groups in any of the outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The sample size was small, with only 33 of the initial 56 participants completing the study due to morbidity and loss to follow-up. The study excluded patients with receptive aphasia, cognitive problems, or visual/perceptual issues, which limits the generalisability of the findings to the broader stroke population who may have these common comorbidities. It took three years to recruit the participants, indicating difficulty in finding eligible patients who met the strict inclusion criteria. The high dropout rate and small final sample make it difficult to detect subtle effects, even though the initial power calculation suggested the sample size was sufficient.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the descriptive trends, such as the decrease in subluxation in the longitudinal group, as proof that strapping works. These differences were not statistically significant, and the control group actually showed greater improvement in motor function than the strapped groups.