title: Effects of taping the hand in children with cerebral palsy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Thumb in palm deformity restricts hand function by preventing somatosensory input in children with cerebral palsy who have spasticity in their hands.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of thenar palmar tape application with and without pressure on upper extremity function in children with cerebral palsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  45 children were randomly assigned to one of the thenar taping groups either with or without pressure or to the control group. Nine hole peg test and nine parts puzzle test were used to measure upper extremity function. The two study groups were evaluated initially, with taping 20 min later and 20 min after taping was removed. The control group was evaluated initially, 20 min later and again after 20 min.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Intragroup analyses showed that initially there was a difference in favor of the control group: number of pegs placed in the hole in 25 s (p = 0.032); number of puzzle parts placed in the hole in 25 s (p = 0.028). Following 20 min of application, there was no longer any difference between the groups (p = 0.458, p = 0.286 respectively). This was accepted as a manifestation of the effectiveness of taping. Intergroup analyses also showed a carry over effect 20 min after removing the tape only in the palmar pressure group (p = 0.004 and p = 0.014).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It was concluded that taping can be an effective option for repositioning the thumb and improves upper extremity function by controlling the thumb in palm mechanically and enabling sensorial input by maintaining the correct hand position.
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Altindag, 06100 Ankara, Turkey. Electronic address: hilal.keklicek@hacettepe.edu.tr.
authors.forename: Hilal
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Keklicek
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Altindag, 06100 Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Fatma
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Uygur
authors.affiliation: Hacettepe University, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation, Altindag, 06100 Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Yavuz
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yakut
mesh_terms: D055052:Athletic Tape; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D006225:Hand; D006801:Humans; D009048:Motor Skills; D009128:Muscle Spasticity / Q000628:therapy*
keywords: Cerebral palsy; Hand function; Spasticity; Tape; Thumb in palm