Poster 89: The Effects of Foot Drop Stimulator on the Parameters of Functional Locomotion in Subjects with Stroke-Related Foot Drop

Objective: To determine if conventional rehabilitation program combined with functional electrical stimulation (FES) applied to the ankle dorsiflexor muscles during walking through a foot drop stimulator (FDS) would influence activation of tibialis anterior (TA) and improve walking ability in individuals with stroke-related drop foot. Design: Case series Setting: Post-acute rehabilitation hospital. Participants: Individuals with stroke-related drop foot. Interventions: All study subjects received the conventional stroke rehabilitation program 5 days a week, 1h a day combined with walking while FES system based on multi-pad electrode applied, for 30min, during 4 weeks. The following outcome measurements were taken at baseline and at post-treatment. Main Outcome Measures: Surface electromyography (sEMG), gait speed using 10 Meter Walk Test (10MWT), Fugl-Meyer assessment (FMA) and Berg Balance Scale (BBS). Results: The analyzed recorded EMG signal showed an improvement in both amplitude and frequency spectrum, which indicates an improvement in muscle power of TA treated with FES therapy. Mean increase in 10MWT was 38.7% (P <.05). The initial FMA score increased from 22.9±2.4 to 28.8±3.5 (P < .01) and BBS score increased from 36.6±7.4 to 42.0±8.5 (P < .05). Conclusions: Our data confirm that FES therapy using multi-pad electrode combined with conventional rehabilitation significantly increase muscle recruitment and improve recovery of functional locomotion in patients with stroke-related drop foot. Level of Evidence: Level IV