Adding functional electrical stimulation (FES) to standard rehabilitation improves lower extremity function and walking ability in patients with a first acute stroke, new research shows.

FES, which has been in use since the 1960s, involves the use of mild electric currents designed to stimulate the muscles.

Previous reports have suggested an advantage for electric stimulation therapy over standard rehabilitation, but most studies investigating the issue have not been properly designed, Dr. Christina W. Y. Hui-Chan, from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, and colleagues note.

To address this issue, the researchers assessed the outcomes of 46 patients who were randomly treated with standard rehabilitation alone or in combination with either FES or fake “placebo” stimulation. Stimulation began a few days after the stroke and was given five days per week for three weeks.

The researchers’ findings appear in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke.

Compared with the other two interventions, FES plus standard rehabilitation improved several measures of lower limb function.

As noted, treatment with FES also improved walking ability. After treatment, all patients in the FES group were able to walk and 85 percent returned home. In contrast, the percentage of patients returning home in the other groups hovered around just 50 percent.

While the results are encouraging, it is not clear that they can be generalized to all stroke patients because the study did not include all stroke categories or patients outside the 45- to 85-year-old age range, the researchers note.

SOURCE: Stroke, January 2005.