FES Cycling Aids Individuals following a Stroke

A new study published in the European Journal of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine focused on whether FES Cycling could be beneficial in the rehabilitation of post-acute stroke patients.   Seventy percent of the FES Cycling patients learned how to perform the sit to stand movement with three different rising speeds whilst no patients in the control group could achieve this.

Twenty post-acute inpatients were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups.  One group receiving FES Cycling as part of their therapy and the other group a standard rehabilitation programme.  Both groups received 3 hours of rehabilitation per day for four weeks. 

FES Cycling was applied daily for 35 minutes and quadriceps, hamstrings, gluteus maximus and tibialis anterior of both legs were stimulated.

Following treatment the two groups were compared with a variety of outcome measurements including the maximum isometric voluntary contraction of the quadriceps, walking and sit-to-stand ability, motricity index, upright motor control tests and trunk control tests.

After treatment, it was observed that the FES group produced a significantly higher increase in muscular force in the quadricepts compared with the control group.  The study concludes by reporting that FES Cycling was more effective in promoting muscle strength and motor recovery than conventional therapy alone.

The full text of the article is currently available at this link

http://www.minervamedica.it/index2.t?show=R49Y2008N02A0159 

 

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