Effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on tibialis anterior muscle of spastic hemiparetic children

Abstract

Objective: This study evaluated the effects of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on muscle strength, range of motion (ROM) and gross motor function, among spastic hemiparetic children while standing, walking, running and jumping. Methods: Ten children were divided into two groups of five. The children who were normally receiving physical therapy sessions twice a week had two 30minute NMES sessions per week (group 1), while those who were having one physical therapy session per week had one 30-minute NMES session per week (group 2), for seven weeks in both groups. The children were evaluated three times: before beginning the NMES protocol (initial), right after the end of the protocol (final) and eight weeks after the final evaluation (follow-up). The evaluations included manual goniometry on ankle dorsiflexion, manual muscle strength of the tibialis anterior and gross motor function (measurements while standing, walking, running and jumping). The statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney tests, considering a p level of 0.05. Results: There were significant increases in muscle strength, gross motor function and passive ROM of ankle dorsiflexion, in both groups, and in active dorsiflexion in the first group. No significant differences were found between the groups. Conclusions: The improvements in ROM, muscle strength and gross motor function demonstrated that the use of NMES was effective in both groups, since no significant differences were found between the groups. This study suggests that NMES may be a useful therapeutic tool, even when applied once a week. Further studies are needed to confirm these findings.

The influence of stimulus phase duration on discomfort and electrically induced torque of quadriceps femoris

“…It is also claimed to be useful for delaying or preventing muscle atrophy, increasing muscle thickness, fascicle length, and knee extensor torque in patients with knee osteoarthritis, hastening recovery from knee ligament surgery and from chondromalacia patellae, reducing spasticity and contractures, preventing deep vein thrombosis, and treating a range of clinical conditions [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] . The claims are extensive but the published evidence for some of these claims is either lacking or unconvincing [20][21][22] .…”

Efeito Da Estimulação Elétrica Neuromuscular (Eenm) No Músculo Agonista E Antagonista De Indivíduos Com Hemiplegia Espástica Decorrente De Disfunção Vascular Encefálica: Revisão Sistemática

“…A eficácia da EENM no tratamento de indivíduos hemiplégicos espásticos tem sido comprovada em diversos estudos, utilizando-se diferentes protocolos de aplicação (JERONIMO, 2010;SILVA, 2010;BECK et al, 2010;SILVA et al, 2010;NUNES et al, 2008;LIMA et al 2008;AKINBO et al, 2007).…”

Functional electrical stimulation of the ankle dorsiflexors during walking in spastic cerebral palsy: a systematic review

“…A smaller pulse width causes less discomfort and skin irritation. The pulse rate (or frequency) of the stimulation determines the rate of nerve depolarization and influences the type of muscle contraction: twitch contractions occurring at low (1-10 pulses per second [pps or Hz]) frequency; or incomplete tetanic or fused tetanic contractions at higher frequencies (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) or >45-50pps). Charge per phase is calculated as the current-time integral.…”

“…Subsequently, 13 articles were excluded because the applied electrical stimulation method was not FES (six studies applied neuromuscular electrical stimulation, four studies applied threshold electrical stimulation, and three applied stimulation at sensory level). 15,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] Two articles lacking data about FES separately to the ankle dorsiflexors were also excluded. 31,32 Five other excluded articles were reviews about FES of different muscles 14,[33][34][35][36] and two articles were excluded because they did not report specific information sufficiently or were only conference abstracts instead of full-text articles.…”