BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to determine the orthotic and therapeutic effects of daily community applied FES to the ankle dorsiflexors in a randomized controlled trial. We hypothesized that children receiving the eight-week FES treatment would demonstrate orthotic and therapeutic effects in gait and spasticity as well as better community mobility and balance skills compared to controls not receiving FES.MethodsThis randomized controlled trial involved 32 children (mean age 10 yrs 3 mo, SD 3 yrs 3 mo; 15 females, 17 males) with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy and a Gross Motor Function Classification System of I or II randomly assigned to a FES treatment group (n = 16) or control group (n = 16). The treatment group received eight weeks of daily FES (four hours per day, six days per week) and the control group received usual orthotic and therapy treatment. Children were assessed at baseline, post FES treatment (eight weeks) and follow-up (six weeks after post FES treatment). Outcome measures included lower limb gait mechanics, clinical measures of gastrocnemius spasticity and community mobility balance skills.ResultsParticipants used the FES for a mean daily use of 6.2 (SD 3.2) hours over the eight-week intervention period. With FES, the treatment group demonstrated a significant (p < 0.05) increase in initial contact ankle angle (mean difference 11.9° 95 % CI 6.8° to 17.1°), maximum dorsiflexion ankle angle in swing (mean difference 8.1° 95 % CI 1.8° to 14.4°) normalized time in stance (mean difference 0.27 95 % CI 0.05 to 0.49) and normalized step length (mean difference 0.06 95 % CI 0.003 to 0.126) post treatment compared to the control group. Without FES, the treatment group significantly increased community mobility balance scores at post treatment (mean difference 8.3 units 95 % CI 3.2 to 13.4 units) and at follow-up (mean difference 8.9 units 95 % CI 3.8 to13.9 units) compared to the control group. The treatment group also had significantly reduced gastrocnemius spasticity at post treatment (p = 0.038) and at follow-up (dynamic range of motion mean difference 6.9°, 95 % CI 0.4° to 13.6°; p = 0.035) compared to the control group.ConclusionThis study documents an orthotic effect with improvement in lower limb mechanics during gait. Therapeutic effects i.e. without FES were observed in clinical measures of gastrocnemius spasticity, community mobility and balance skills in the treatment group at post treatment and follow-up. This study supports the use of FES applied during daily walking activities to improve gait mechanics as well as to address community mobility issues among children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy.Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Register ACTRN12614000949684. Registered 4 September 2014.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12887-015-0472-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Aim To determine if neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) applied to the ankle dorsiflexors during gait improves muscle volume and strength in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (CP). Method Thirty‐two children (15 females, 17 males; mean age 10y 8mo, age range 5y 5mo–18y 1mo) with unilateral spastic CP and a Gross Motor Function Classification System of level I or level II were randomly assigned to either the 8‐week daily NMES treatment group or control group (usual or conventional treatments). Outcomes at week 8 (post‐NMES) and week 14 (carryover) included magnetic resonance imaging for muscle volumes (tibialis anterior, anterior compartment, and gastrocnemius), strength (hand‐held dynamometry for isometric dorsiflexion strength and heel raises for functional strength), and clinical measures for lower limb selective motor control. Results At week 8, the treatment group demonstrated significantly (p<0.05) increased muscle volumes for tibialis anterior, anterior compartment, medial and lateral gastrocnemius, and dorsiflexion strength not only when compared to their baseline values but also when compared to the control group at week 8. At week 14, both tibialis anterior and lateral gastrocnemius volumes in the treatment group remained significantly increased when compared to their baseline values. However, only lateral gastrocnemius volumes had significantly greater values when compared to the control group at week 14. There were no between group differences in the clinical measures for lower limb selective motor control at week 8 and 14. Interpretation Eight weeks of daily NMES‐assisted gait increases muscle volume and strength of the stimulated ankle dorsiflexors in children with unilateral spastic CP. These changes are use‐dependent and do not carry over after the 8‐week treatment period. Gastrocnemius volume also increased post‐treatment with carryover at week 14.

Intermittent, short-term use of FES is potentially effective for reducing impairments affecting gait in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy.