Article

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) applied through a foot drop
stimulator (FDS) is a rehabilitation intervention that can stimulate the common
peroneal nerve to provide dorsiflexion at the correct timing during gait.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if FES applied to the peroneal nerve during walking
through a FDS would effectively retrain the electromyographic temporal activation
of the tibialis anterior in individuals with stroke. METHODS: Surface
electromyography (EMG) were collected bilaterally from the tibialis anterior (TA)
while participants (n = 4) walked with and without the FDS at baseline and 4
weeks. Comparisons were made between stimulation timing and EMG activation timing
to produce a burst duration similarity index (BDSI). RESULTS: At baseline,
participants displayed variable temporal activation of the TA. At 4 weeks, TA
activation during walking without the FDS more closely resembled the
pre-programmed FDS timing demonstrated by an increase in BDSI scores in all
participants (P = 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Continuous use of FDS during a task
specific movement can re-train the neuromuscular system. After 4 weeks of
utilization the FDS trained the TA to replicate the programmed temporal
activation patterns. These findings begin to establish the FDS as a
rehabilitation intervention that may facilitate recovery rather than just
compensate for stroke related gait impairments due to foot drop.
- Pied tombant

Langue : ANGLAIS