Article

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether functional electrical stimulation (FES) timed to
activate the dorsiflexors and plantar flexors during gait improves the walking of
adults with hemiplegia. DESIGN: Randomized crossover trial. SETTING: Outpatient
rehabilitation clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Adults with hemiplegia (N=28) with a mean
age +/- SD of 60+/-10.9 years and 4.9+/-3.8 years postincident. INTERVENTIONS:
Intervention "A" included 3 months of wearing the FES system, which activated
automatically during walking for 6 to 8h/d, 7d/wk, plus walking 1h/d, 6d/wk.
Intervention "B" included 3 months of walking 1h/d, 6d/wk without FES. Of the 28
patients who completed the study, 15 were randomly assigned to group A-B, 13 to
group B-A. Crossover occurred at 3 months. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Variables were
measured at pretreatment, 3 months, and 6 months. Three primary outcomes were
selected a priori and included 2 functional variables, the 6-minute walk test and
the Emory Functional Ambulatory Profile, and 1 participation variable, the Stroke
Impact Scale. Secondary impairment measures included muscle strength and
spasticity. Assessments were done without electrical stimulation. RESULTS: In
phase 1, patients who received treatment A (A-B group) showed improvement
compared with patients who received treatment B (B-A group) on the 6-minute walk
test (P=.02), Emory Functional Ambulatory Profile (P=.08), and Stroke Impact
Scale (P=.03). In phase 2, the A-B group maintained improvement in all 3 primary
outcomes even without FES. Both groups improved significantly on all primary
outcome measures, comparing 6-month to initial measures (P</=.05). CONCLUSIONS:
An FES system that stimulates dorsiflexors and plantar flexors similar to the
timing of typical adult gait, combined with daily walking, can improve the
walking ability of adults with hemiplegia.

Langue : ANGLAIS