Effectiveness of gait triggered functional electrical stimulation on foot drop of spastic cerebral palsy children

Objective:To observe the effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation(FES) for children with spastic hemiplegic cerebral palsy(CP)-induced foot drop.Methods:Twenty-four children with spastic hemiplegic CP were divided into control group and observation group(n=12 each group).All children were subjected to motor training and physical agents therapy.The observation group was given neuromuscular electrical stimulation(NMES) on common peroneal nerve of affected side by using XFT-2001 FES and 30-min walking training was done once a day.The modified Ashworth scale of the hemiplegic lower limb,the ankle angle of active dorsiflexion motion and D and E domains of Gross Motor Function Measure(GMFM-88) were performed to comparatively evaluate the effectiveness before and after treatment.Results:The muscle tone score of the hemiplegic lower limb was significantly decreased 12 weeks after treatment in both two groups as compared with pre-treatment(P0.01),and that in observation group were reduced more significantly than in control group(P0.05).D and E domains of GMFM-88 scores and the ankle angle of active dorsiflexion motion were increased after treatment in both two group as compared with pre-treatment(P0.01),and those in the observation group were higher than in the control group(P0.05).Conclusion:FES in combination with rehabilitation functional training in the treatment for children with spastic hemiplegic CP can effectively increase the range of ankle motion,and improve gross motor function of lower extremities.