Cycling Training and Functional Electrical Stimulation for Post-Stroke Patients

Abstract

Introducion: Stroke is one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in adults worldwide. The prevalence of stroke in developing countries such as South Africa and Iran is growing, especially in an increasingly younger population. In Iran, the annual stroke incidence ranges from 23 to 103 per 100,000 inhabitants, with the rate being higher in those aged 15-45 years. Problematically, almost 50% of stroke patients face difficulties in performing activities of daily living, hence the importance of functional rehabilitation. These factors necessitate cost-effective solutions in developing countries, where there is insufficient research focused on practical solutions for treatment/rehabilitation. Objective: We hypothesize that while progressive cycling training would activate cortical regions and that cycling speed feedback could lead to additional cortical activations and resultant improvements in cycling performance, combined cycling training and functional electrical stimulation would result in superior improvements in cycling performance, aerobic capacity, and functional performance in post-stroke patients. Conclusions: Ultimately, we expect this hypothesis to provide a useful framework for facilitating combined cycling and functional electrical stimulation rehabilitation research in post-stroke patient populations. Level of Evidence V; Expert opinion.

Effect of combined aquatic and cognitive training on quality of life, fall self-efficacy, and motor performance in aged with varying cognitive status: a proof-of-concept study

“…Interested individuals were screened to determine whether they met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. For inclusion, participants had to be older than 60 years, have a fluency of Persian; had to sign the informed consent; were required have the ability to respond to questionnaires, including the Mini-Mental Status Questionnaire (MMSE); have no absolute or relative contraindications to exercise and be willing to use the intervention for six weeks (Ansari et al, 2010;Shariat et al, 2018). Exclusion criteria included seniors with diagnosed Alzheimer disease, dementia, recent head injury, or unstable chronic diseases (e.g., stroke, diabetes), rapidly progressing or terminal illnesses (Eggenberger et al, 2015), or a score not being classified as having a low or high cognitive status on the MMSE.…”

Concurrent impact of bilateral multiple joint functional electrical stimulation and treadmill walking on gait and spasticity in post-stroke survivors: a pilot study

“…Previous rehabilitation studies have shown that FES is effective for increasing muscle activation (Kafri and Laufer, 2014;Shariat et al, 2018). In addition, FES appears to engage the sensorimotor cortex of the brain by stimulating Type 1 afferent nerve endings in post-stroke survivors.…”

Multimodal Impact of Acupuncture, Exercise Therapy, And Concurrent Functional Electrical Stimulation On Osteoarthritis of the Knee: a Case Report

“…Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is a rehabilitation device used to facilitate muscular action [11]. The FES device produces a skeletal muscle contraction through the percutaneous stimulation of peripheral nerves, aiming to preserve muscle mass and strength and prevent muscle atrophy [12,13]. It has been used in combination with gait training for patients following stroke, and in patients with multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease to improve gait function [14,15].…”