Affiliations: [a] Human Performance and Engineering Laboratory, Kessler Foundation, West Orange, NJ, USA | [b] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Rutgers University, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA | [c] Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Karen J. Nolan, PhD, Kessler Foundation, 1199 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, NJ 07052, USA.
Tel.: +1 973 324 3544; Fax: +1 973 324 3536; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: Background:Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) applied through a foot drop stimulator (FDS) is a rehabilitation intervention that can stimulate the common peroneal nerve to provide dorsiflexion at the correct timing during gait. Objective:To determine if FES applied to the peroneal nerve during walking through a FDS would effectively retrain the electromyographic temporal activation of the tibialis anterior in individuals with stroke. Methods:Surface electromyography (EMG) were collected bilaterally from the tibialis anterior (TA) while participants (n = 4) walked with and without the FDS at baseline and 4 weeks. Comparisons were made between stimulation timing and EMG activation timing to produce a burst duration similarity index (BDSI). Results:At baseline, participants displayed variable temporal activation of the TA. At 4 weeks, TA activation during walking without the FDS more closely resembled the pre-programmed FDS timing demonstrated by an increase in BDSI scores in all participants (P = 0.05). Conclusions:Continuous use of FDS during a task specific movement can re-train the neuromuscular system. After 4 weeks of utilization the FDS trained the TA to replicate the programmed temporal activation patterns. These findings begin to establish the FDS as a rehabilitation intervention that may facilitate recovery rather than just compensate for stroke related gait impairments due to foot drop.
