Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to identify the effect of Meridian pressure on the functions of upper extremities and discomfort of ADLs of hemiplegic patients. METHODS: The research design was a nonequivalent control group, non-synchronized design. Subjects were 35 hemiplegic patients who were hospitalized at L Oriental Medical Hospital; 18 for the experimental group and 17 for the control group. The experimental group was given meridian pressure for 10 minutes daily for 2 weeks. The data were analyzed by SPSS 12.0 program. The chi-square-test and t-test were used for the two groups' homogeneity, and t-test was used for the hypothesis test.
RESULTS
Manual muscle test, ROMs of wrist extension, elbow flexion, and shoulder extension of the experimental group increased compared to the control group. Shoulder pain and index finger circumference of the experimental group decreased compared to the control group. The experimental group showed to have less discomfort of ADLs than the control group.
CONCLUSION
The study results verified that meridian pressure is effective for improving the functions of hemiplegic patients' upper extremities as well as reducing discomfort of ADLs.

• Keywords: Activities of daily living; Discomfort; Hemiplegia; Meridian