Context:  Shoulder-hand Syndrome affects 12% - 48% of stroke survivors in the sub-acute phase of rehabilitation.  There is currently no successful treatment method to manage this debilitating condition.  Kinesio^TM Tape is a relatively new, but popular therapeutic application that has been successfully used by physiotherapists to stimulate mechanoreceptors to facilitate muscle contraction and decrease pain, edema and inflammation.  Until recently, very little research has been done to determine the therapeutic benefits of Kinesio^TM Tape in hemiplegia.

Objective:  To determine the most effective strapping technique and material for the treatment of hemiplegic shoulder-hand syndrome.

Methodology:  20 patients living with hemiplegia and diagnosed with shoulder-hand syndrome who were receiving inpatient rehabilitation at Tshwane Rehabilitation Centre were chosen to participate in the study.  A pre-test-post-test research design was used and participants were randomly divided in either the control or experimental groups.

Ethical considerations:  Ethical approval was obtained from the Medical Research Council of South-Africa and each patient signed an informed consent form.

Outcome Measures:  The Visual Analogue Pain Scale, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand outcome questionnaire, Arm Length Discrepancy measurements were used.

Results:  To be confirmed by statistician

Conclusion:  The results of the study indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between the usage of Kinesio^TM taping and conventional strapping methods in the treatment of hemiplegic shoulder-hand syndrome.  There was however a clinically significant change in the severity of pain experienced by patients receiving the Kinesio^TM tape in comparison with the conventional strapping.

Key words:  Shoulder-hand Syndrome, Kinesio^TM tape, Hemiplegia.