Electrical therapy improves walking after stroke

	Tweet

Adding functional electrical stimulation (FES) to standard rehabilitation improves lower extremity function and walking ability in patients with a first acute stroke, new research shows.

FES, which has been in use since the 1960s, involves the use of mild electric currents designed to stimulate the muscles.

Previous reports have suggested an advantage for electric stimulation therapy over standard rehabilitation, but most studies investigating the issue have not been properly designed, Dr. Christina W. Y. Hui-Chan, from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and colleagues note.

To address this issue, the researchers assessed the outcomes of 46 patients who were randomly treated with standard rehabilitation alone or in combination with either FES or fake “placebo” stimulation. Stimulation began a few days after the stroke and was given five days per week for three weeks.

The researchers’ findings appear in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

Compared with the other two interventions, FES plus standard rehabilitation improved several measures of lower limb function.

As noted, treatment with FES also improved walking ability. After treatment, all patients in the FES group were able to walk and 85 percent returned home. In contrast, the percentage of patients returning home in the other groups hovered around just 50 percent.

While the results are encouraging, it is not clear that they can be generalized to all stroke patients because the study did not include all stroke categories or patients outside the 45- to 85-year-old age range, the researchers note.

SOURCE: Stroke, January 2005.

RELATED STORIES:
Study finds that obstructive sleep apnea causes earlier death in stroke patients   Experts Available to Discuss Alzheimer’s Disease   Simple Eye Scan Opens Window to Multiple Sclerosis   Exercise Training After Stroke Helps Patients Walk Faster, Longer   Cells talk more in areas Alzheimer’s hits first, boosting plaque component   Dizziness Causes Don’t Differ Across Age Groups   Vulnerable brain region may be central to progression of Alzheimer’s disease   Infections may speed Alzheimer’s memory loss   Study finds magnesium sulfate may offer protection from cerebral palsy   Hand-held device brings speech to impaired   The Effect of Diet on Mental Energy   New drug helps with Parkinson’s movement problems

Comments

[ + Post Your Own ]

Now you're in the public comment zone. What follows is not Armenian Medical Network's stuff; it comes from other people and we don't vouch for it. A reminder: By using this Web site you agree to accept our Terms of Service. Click here to read the Rules of Engagement.

There are no comments for this entry yet. [ + Comment here + ]