Background

troke is a leading cause of disability and death worldwide, often resulting in facial nerve paralysis, which impairs facial muscle function and symmetry. Traditional rehabilitation methods like physiotherapy and speech therapy are commonly used to restore facial movement. Recently, Kinesiology Taping (KT) has gained attention as a complementary therapy for improving facial muscle function and symmetry. This study investigates the effectiveness of KT in enhancing facial rehabilitation outcomes in stroke patients with VII cranial nerve paralysis.

Aims

The primary objective of this study was to assess facial symmetry and the function of facial muscles before and after a 6-week KT intervention in stroke patients suffering from VII cranial nerve paralysis.

Material and methods

The study was conducted on 27 patients aged 35-85 years. All patients underwent a standard rehabilitation program. Additionally, a group of 15 patients received KT application on the affected facial muscles, while the 12-patient control group did not undergo KT. The House-Brackmann scale and facial muscle function were used to assess the outcomes.

Results

Both interventions improved the House-Brackmann scale scores. The experimental group presented a 39.15% reduction in the H-B score (Δ = 1.93, P < 0.001), while the control group showed a 24.61% reduction (Δ = 1.25, P < 0.003). Age and discomfort were found to be significant predictive variables, accounting for 53% of the variance in intervention effectiveness (F = 9.03, R² = 0.53, P = 0.004).

Conclusions

The study demonstrated that KT positively affects facial muscle function and symmetry, aiding in the recovery of facial function in post-stroke patients. Therefore, KT application can be considered a beneficial supplementary therapy for facial nerve paralysis