CONTROL STUDY OF MUSCLE FORCE RECOVERY IN HEMIPARETIC PATIENTS DURING TREATMENT WITH FUNCTIONAL ELECTRICAL-STIMULATION

  • 1 January 1978
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 10  (3) , 147-154
Abstract
A group of 49 hemiparetic patients with limited emotional, communication and sensibility involvement and with recent lesion of cerebrovascular etiology was randomly divided into 2 groups of 24 and 25 subjects. Both groups received traditional physiotherapy treatment for 1 h/day, 1 group received 20 min/day of peroneal nerve stimulation. The maximum voluntary dorsal flexion movements of the ankle joint of the affected and nonaffected extremities were measured with an isometric brace twice a wk for 1 mo. and for both groups. The recovery of movement in the stimulated group turned out about 3 times greater than in the control group and considerably less dependent upon age, time from lesion, initial value and side of lesion. Patients (3) using a peroneal brace at home as an assisting device were again evaluated 2 mo. later and further improvement was observed. This work gives statistical support to previous observations based on very few cases and provides a statistically reliable answer concerning the entity of FES [functional electrical stimulation] induced recovery of muscle force in hemiparetic subjects.