Electrical stimulation of wrist and fingers for sensory and functional recovery in acute hemiplegia

Objective: To investigate the effects of a short-term electrical stimulation in conjunction with neurodevelopmental exercises on sensory and functional recovery of hemiparetic upper limb in acute stroke patients. Design: Controlled clinical trial with alternate allocation. Setting: Acute inpatient medical care setting of a university hospital. Subjects: Thirty-six acute stroke patients (18 TENS group; 18 control group) who experienced their first stroke were studied. Intervention: Both groups received 1 h/day neurodevelopmental exercises in accordance with Bobath for 10 days. In addition to exercises the TENS group received electrical stimulation of the wrist and finger extensors for 1 h. Main outcome measures: Kinaesthesia and position sense tests, a hand function test and a hand movement scale were performed before and after treatment. Results: Both groups showed considerable improvement in kinaesthesia sense and position sense after treatment. Comparison of the two groups after treatment revealed that this difference was not significant (P > 0.05). Both groups showed improvement in hand movement scores (P < 0.05), whereas hand function improved only in the TENS group (P < 0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicated that additional stimulation of the hand and fingers leads to an improved sensorimotor outcome immediately after the intervention.