Effect of normal-walking-pattern-based functional electrical stimulation on gait of the lower extremity in subjects with ischemic stroke: A self controlled study

BACKGROUND: Functional electrical stimulation is a widely used technique for rehabilitation. OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of walking-pattern-based four-channel functional electric stimulation and its influence on the gait features of stroke patients with hemiplegia. METHODS: A total of 21 stroke patients with hemiplegia were enrolled into the study. The walking gaits of patients were investigated before, during and after walking-pattern-based FES treatment using the gait analysis system. The changes of gait indexes were comparatively analyzed. RESULTS: After walking-pattern-based FES therapy, the pace, stride rate, gait cycle, and step length of stroke patients with hemiplegia were 50.19 +/- 14.45 cm/s, 36.85 +/- 5.85 time/min, 1.6643 +/- 0.2626 sec, 80.3333 +/- 15.1438 cm, respectively. The motion range of hip and knee joint were 47.5238 +/- 10.7453, 56.7619 +/- 14.5255, respectively. We found these indexes were significantly improved compared with those before FES treatment (P < 0.05). The single swing rate (injured extremity/uninjured extremity) after FES treatment was 1.5589 +/- 0.4550. The statistical results showed that the gait cycle, pace, stride rat, and single swing rate (injured extremity/uninjured extremity) were significantly improved after FES treatment (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate that walking-paradigm based FES we developed is effective for treating stroke patients during rehabilitation.