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Gait Rehabilitation Using Functional Electrical Stimulation Induces Changes in Ankle Muscle Coordination in Stroke Survivors: A Preliminary Study.

ABSTRACT: Background: Previous studies have demonstrated that post-stroke gait rehabilitation combining functional electrical stimulation (FES) applied to the ankle muscles during fast treadmill walking (FastFES) improves gait biomechanics and clinical walking function. However, there is considerable inter-individual variability in response to FastFES. Although FastFES aims to sculpt ankle muscle coordination, whether changes in ankle muscle activity underlie observed gait improvements is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate three cases illustrating how FastFES modulates ankle muscle recruitment during walking. Methods: We conducted a preliminary case series study on three individuals (53-70 y; 2 M; 35-60 months post-stroke; 19-22 lower extremity Fugl-Meyer) who participated in 18 sessions of FastFES (3 sessions/week; ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01668602). Clinical walking function (speed, 6-min walk test, and Timed-Up-and-Go test), gait biomechanics (paretic propulsion and ankle angle at initial-contact), and plantarflexor (soleus)/dorsiflexor (tibialis anterior) muscle recruitment were assessed pre- and post-FastFES while walking without stimulation. Results:Two participants (R1, R2) were categorized as responders based on improvements in clinical walking function. Consistent with heterogeneity of clinical and biomechanical changes commonly observed following gait rehabilitation, how muscle activity was altered with FastFES differed between responders. R1 exhibited improved plantarflexor recruitment during stance accompanied by increased paretic propulsion. R2 exhibited improved dorsiflexor recruitment during swing accompanied by improved paretic ankle angle at initial-contact. In contrast, the third participant (NR1), classified as a non-responder, demonstrated increased ankle muscle activity during inappropriate phases of the gait cycle. Across all participants, there was a positive relationship between increased walking speeds after FastFES and reduced SOL/TA muscle coactivation. Conclusion:Our preliminary case series study is the first to demonstrate that improvements in ankle plantarflexor and dorsiflexor muscle recruitment (muscles targeted by FastFES) accompanied improvements in gait biomechanics and walking function following FastFES in individuals post-stroke. Our results also suggest that inducing more appropriate (i.e., reduced) ankle plantar/dorsi-flexor muscle coactivation may be an important neuromuscular mechanism underlying improvements in gait function after FastFES training, suggesting that pre-treatment ankle muscle status could be used for inclusion into FastFES. The findings of this case-series study, albeit preliminary, provide the rationale and foundations for larger-sample studies using similar methodology.

SUBMITTER: Allen JL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6306420 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Gait Rehabilitation Using Functional Electrical Stimulation Induces Changes in Ankle Muscle Coordination in Stroke Survivors: A Preliminary Study.

Allen Jessica L JL Ting Lena H LH Kesar Trisha M TM

Frontiers in neurology 20181220

<b>Background:</b> Previous studies have demonstrated that post-stroke gait rehabilitation combining functional electrical stimulation (FES) applied to the ankle muscles during fast treadmill walking (FastFES) improves gait biomechanics and clinical walking function. However, there is considerable inter-individual variability in response to FastFES. Although FastFES aims to sculpt ankle muscle coordination, whether changes in ankle muscle activity underlie observed gait improvements is unknown. ...[more]

PMID: 30619077

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Project description:BackgroundMany stroke survivors have significant long-term gait impairment, often involving foot drop. Current physiotherapies provide limited recovery. Orthoses substitute for ankle strength, but they provide no lasting therapeutic effect. Brain-computer interface (BCI)-controlled functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a novel rehabilitative approach that may generate permanent neurological improvements. This study explores the safety and feasibility of a foot-drop-targeted BCI-FES physiotherapy in chronic stroke survivors.MethodsSubjects (n?=?9) operated an electroencephalogram-based BCI-FES system for foot dorsiflexion in 12 one-hour sessions over four weeks. Gait speed, dorsiflexion active range of motion (AROM), six-minute walk distance (6MWD), and Fugl-Meyer leg motor (FM-LM) scores were assessed before, during, and after therapy. The primary safety outcome measure was the proportion of subjects that deteriorated in gait speed by ?0.16 m/s at one week or four weeks post-therapy. The secondary outcome measures were the proportion of subjects that experienced a clinically relevant decrease in dorsiflexion AROM (?2.5°), 6MWD (?20 %), and FM-LM score (?10 %) at either post-therapy assessment.ResultsNo subjects (0/9) experienced a clinically significant deterioration in gait speed, dorsiflexion AROM, 6MWT distance, or FM-LM score at either post-therapy assessment. Five subjects demonstrated a detectable increase (?0.06 m/s) in gait speed, three subjects demonstrated a detectable increase (?2.5°) in dorsiflexion AROM, five subjects demonstrated a detectable increase (?10 %) in 6MWD, and three subjects demonstrated a detectable increase (?10 %) in FM-LM. Five of the six subjects that exhibited a detectable increase in either post-therapy gait speed or 6MWD also exhibited significant (p?<?0.01 using a Mann-Whitney U test) increases in electroencephalogram event-related synchronization/desynchronization. Additionally, two subjects experienced a clinically important increase (?0.16 m/s) in gait speed, and four subjects experienced a clinically important increase (?20 %) in 6MWD. Linear mixed models of gait speed, dorsiflexion AROM, 6MWD, and FM-LM scores suggest that BCI-FES therapy is associated with an increase in lower motor performance at a statistically, yet not clinically, significant level.ConclusionBCI-FES therapy is safe. If it is shown to improve post-stroke gait function in future studies, it could provide a new gait rehabilitation option for severely impaired patients. Formal clinical trials are warranted.

Project description:Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) has been used to improve muscle strength and decrease spasticity of the ankle joint in stroke patients. However, it is unclear how NMES could influence dynamic spasticity of ankle plantarflexors and gait asymmetry during walking. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of applying NMES over ankle dorsiflexors or plantarflexors on ankle control during walking and gait performance in chronic stroke patients. Twenty-five stroke participants with inadequate ankle control were recruited and randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. The experimental group received 20 minutes of NMES on either the tibialis anterior muscle (NMES-TA) or the medial gastrocnemius muscle (NMES-MG). The control group received 20 minutes of range of motion and stretching exercises. After the 20 minutes of NMES or exercises, all participants received ambulation training for 15 minutes. Training sessions occurred 3 times per week for 7 weeks. The pre- and post-training assessments included spatio-temporal parameters, ankle range of motion, and dynamic spasticity of ankle plantarflexors during walking. Muscle strength of ankle dorsiflexors and plantarflexors as well as static spasticity of ankle plantarflexors were also examined. The results showed that the static and dynamic spasticity of ankle plantarflexors of the NMES-TA group were significantly decreased after training. Reduction in dynamic spasticity of ankle plantarflexors of the NMES-TA group was significantly greater than that of the NMES-MG group. When compared to the control group, the NMES-TA group had greater improvements in spatial asymmetry, ankle plantarflexion during push off, and muscle strength of ankle dorsiflexors, and the NMES-MG group showed a significant decrease in temporal asymmetry. In summary, NMES on ankle dorsiflexors could be an effective management to enhance gait performance and ankle control during walking in chronic stroke patients. NMES on ankle plantarflexors may improve gait symmetry.

Project description:BackgroundStroke rehabilitation often uses the motor relearning concept that require patients to perform active practice of skill-specific training and to receive feedback. Treadmill training augmented with real-time visualisation feedback and functional electrical stimulation may have a beneficial synergistic effect on motor recovery. This study aims to determine the feasibility of this kind of enhanced treadmill training for gait rehabilitation among patients after stroke. A system for dynamic visualisation of lower-limb movement based on 3-dimentional motion capture and a computer timed functional electrical stimulation system was developed. Participants received up to 20-min enhanced treadmill training instead of their over-ground gait training once or twice a week for 6 weeks at Coathill hospital, Lanarkshire, United Kingdom. Number of training sessions attended, and training duration were used to assess feasibility. Ankle kinematics in the sagittal plane of walking with and without functional electrical stimulation support of the pre-tibial muscles were also compared and used to confirm the functional electrical stimulation was triggered at the targeted time.ResultsSix patients after stroke participated in the study. The majority of participants were male (5/6) with a age range from 30 to 84 years and 4/6 had left hemiplegia. All participants suffered from brain infarction and were at least 3 months after stroke. Number of training sessions attended ranged from 5 to 12. The duration of training sessions ranged from 11 to 20 min. No serious adverse events were reported. The computerised functional electrical stimulation to the pre-tibial muscles was able to reduce plantarflexion angle during the swing phase with statistical significance (p = 0.015 at 80%; p = 0.008 at 90 and 100% of the gait cycle).ConclusionsIt is safe and feasible to use treadmill gait training augmented with real-time visual feedback and computer-controlled functional electrical stimulation with patients after stroke in routine clinical practice.Trial registrationNCT03348215. Registered 20 November 2017.

Project description:Introduction: Lower limb pain, whether induced experimentally or as a result of a musculoskeletal injury, can impair motor control, leading to gait adaptations such as increased muscle stiffness or modified load distribution around joints. These adaptations may initially reduce pain but can also lead to longer-term maladaptive plasticity and to the development of chronic pain. In humans, many current experimental musculoskeletal-like pain models are invasive, and most don't accurately reproduce the movement-related characteristics of musculoskeletal pain. The main objective of this study was to measure pain adaptation strategies during gait of a musculoskeletal-like experimental pain protocol induced by phase-specific, non-invasive electrical stimulation. Methods: Sixteen healthy participants walked on a treadmill at 4 km/h for three consecutive periods (BASELINE, PAIN, and POST-PAIN). Painful electrical stimulations were delivered at heel strike for the duration of heel contact (HC) using electrodes placed around the right lateral malleolus to mimic ankle sprains. Gait adaptations were quantified bilaterally using instrumented pressure-sensitive insoles. One-way ANOVAs and group time course analyses were performed to characterize the impact of electrical stimulation on heel and forefoot contact pressure and contact duration. Results: During the first few painful strides, peak HC pressure decreased on the painful side (8.6 ± 1.0%, p < 0.0001) and increased on the non-stimulated side (11.9 ± 0.9%, p < 0.0001) while HC duration was significantly reduced bilaterally (painful: 12.1 ± 0.9%, p < 0.0001; non-stimulated: 4.8 ± 0.8%, p < 0.0001). No clinically meaningful modifications were observed for the forefoot. One minute after the onset of painful stimulation, perceived pain levels stabilized and peak HC pressure remained significantly decreased on the painful side, while the other gait adaptations returned to pre-stimulation values. Discussion: These results demonstrate that a non-invasive, phase-specific pain can produce a stable painful gait pattern. Therefore, this protocol will be useful to study musculoskeletal pain locomotor adaptation strategies under controlled conditions.

Dataset Information

Gait Rehabilitation Using Functional Electrical Stimulation Induces Changes in Ankle Muscle Coordination in Stroke Survivors: A Preliminary Study.

Publications

Gait Rehabilitation Using Functional Electrical Stimulation Induces Changes in Ankle Muscle Coordination in Stroke Survivors: A Preliminary Study.

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