Most of us who use kinesiology tape, typically use it as an adjunct to more common manual treatment approaches.  However, the use of kinesiology tape as an intervention to assist patients who have suffered a stroke is just another means of using tape.  I have had some success with a 16 year old stroke patient when using the tape to lower hypertonicity in the upper extremities, but this most recent study opens a whole new doorway to helping stroke patients.

Dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing, can be result in pulmonary aspiration or pneumonia.  Undiagnosed dysphagia can also result in dehydration, malnutrition, and renal failure. This study attempt to show how the use of kinesiology tape on external laryngeal muscles (digastric posterior bellies, mylohyoid and geniohyoid), the sternocleidomastoid (SCM) and the upper trapezius.  The results were significantly relevant and may be a step in a new direction for helping patients who may encounter this disease.

You can read the entire research study here.