Abstract

PURPOSE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the meridian massage on the hand edema, activities of daily living (ADL), and depression in hemiplegic stroke patients.
METHODS
The research was a quasi-experimental design using a non-equivalent control group pre-post test. The subjects were 40 stroke patients who admitted to rehabilitation department in a hospital. The data was collected from January to March, 2009 used the millimeter measurement for checking hand edema and the structured questionnaires. The meridian massage on affected hand was carried out for 10 minutes per day during 2 weeks to the experimental group. Descriptive statistics, -test, Fisher's exact test, and t-test with SPSS/WIN 12.0 program were used to analyze the data.
RESULTS
After the intervention, there were statistically significant differences in the changes of hand edema, ADL, and depression in the experimental group compared with the control group.
CONCLUSION
The meridian massage was effective in improving hand edema, the level of ADL, and depression for the hemiplegic stroke patients. Therefore the meridian massage can be utilized as an effective adjuvant therapy for stroke patients suffering from hand edema in clinical practice.

• Keywords: Stroke; Massage; Edema; Activities of daily living; Depression