Effect of Functional Electrical Stimulation on Gait Restoration After Stroke - A Review

Stroke is one of the leading cause of disability and death throughout the world. Among the hospitalized neurological patients, 60% acquire gait disturbance. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a form of electrical current which helps to contract the weak muscles in the patient with stroke. Several studies were conducted to identify the effectiveness of FES on gait performance. Therefore the purpose of the article was to identify the good quality RCTs and find their results regarding the effectiveness of FES on gait performance of stroke patient. 5 randomized control trials were identified from the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and their score was 5 and above. A careful analysis was performed to make synopsis of those articles and presented in table with description. The first 4 studies found that a combination approach such as Mirror Therapy, Action Observational Training, Brain-computer interface and standard rehabilitation along with FES is effective in gait performance than the FES alone. One study compared the effectiveness of dual and four channels FES where they found 4 channels FES is more effective than dual channel. Therefore the review concluded that FES combined with other treatment modalities is beneficial to restore gait performance of patient with stroke.