Immediate effects of Kinesio Taping on the movement of the hyoid bone and epiglottis during swallowing by stroke patients with dysphagia

[Purpose] The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of Kinesio Taping (KT) on the swallowing function of stroke patients. [Subjects and Methods] Twenty-two stroke patients were randomly assigned to two groups; an experimental group which received KT, and a control group which received no taping intervention. Two-dimensional kinematic analysis was used to determine the displacement of the hyoid bone and the angular variation of the epiglottis using human anatomy-based coordinates. The functional dysphagia scale (FDS) was determined by a videofluoroscopic study (VFSS). [Results] The experimental group presented statistically significant improvements in kinematic changes of the vertical excursion of the hyoid bone and epiglottal rotation. [Conclusion] Clinical use of KT for dysphagia patients should be considered as a treatment approach. In future research, more subjects and more diverse patterns should be studied to accumulate further evidence.