Pilotní studie efektu ambulantní funkční peroneální stimulace.

Aim: The aim of this pilot study was to verify therapeutical eff ect of periodical functional electrical stimulation of peroneal nerve dur ing 4 weeks of intensive outpatient ther apy on speed and performance of gait in post-stroke patients, suff er ing from spastic leg paresis. Methods: 14 subjects were enrolled into this pilot study (10 male, 4 female), aged 54,4 ± 9,4. The subjects were selected from patients suff er ing from chronic phase of stroke, spactic leg paresis and drop foot syndrome. Functional electrical stimulation was performed in total for 4 weeks (5 days weekly) as intensive ambulatory gait train ing with WalkAide neurostimulator. Emory Functional Ambulation Profi le and Two Minute Walk Test were performed for evaluation of changes in speed of gait on diff erent terrains and changes in the walking performance, respectively. Results: In this pilot study, average improvement of Emory Functional Ambulation Profi le score of 11% was observed as well as average improvement of Two Minute Walk Test of 9%. Conclusion: Positive therapeutic eff ect of periodical ambulatory functional electrical stimulation of peroneal nerve on gait speed and gait performance in post-stroke patients was observed in this limited pilot study. Further research, includ ing randomized controlled study featur ing larger data sample, is needed to show signifi cant evidence of the observed eff ect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]