Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Therapy, Division of Health Science, Baekseok University, Cheonan, South Korea
| [b] Graduate School of Health and Welfare, Baekseok University, Seoul, South Korea
| [c] Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Natural Science and Public Health and Safety, Chosun University, Gwangju, South Korea
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Chiang-Soon Song, Ph.D., O.T. Department of Occupational Therapy, Natural Science and Public Health and Safety, Chosun University, 309 Pilmun-daero Dong-gu Gwangju, 501759, South Korea. Tel.: +82 62 230 7040; E-mail: [email protected]; ORCID: 0000-0001-7522-4496.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Electrical stimulation techniques are widely utilized for rehabilitation management in individuals with stroke patients. OBJECTIVES: This review aims to summarize the rehabilitative effects of electrical stimulation therapy on gait performance in stroke patients. METHODS: This review included randomized controlled trials (RCT) investigating the therapeutic effects of electrical stimulation in stroke patients throughout five databases. This review qualitatively synthesized 20 studies and quantitatively analyzed 11 RCTs. RESULTS: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) was the most commonly used electrical stimulation type to improve postural stability and gait performance in stroke patients. The clinical measurement tools commonly used in the three studies to assess the therapeutic effects of FES were Berg balance scale (BBS), 10-meter walk test (10MWT), 6-minute walk test (6mWT), and gait velocity. The BBS score and gait velocity had positive effects in the FES group compared with the control group, but the 10MWT and 6mWT showed the same effects between the two groups. The heterogeneity of BBS scores was also high. CONCLUSION: The results of this review suggest that electrical stimulation shows little evidence of postural stability and gait performance in stroke patients, although some electrical stimulations showed positive effects on postural stability and gait performance.
