Why use functional electrostimulation in the treatment of stroke?

How can this treatment influence a patient who has suffered a stroke? In the following blog we tell you some of the reasons for using this treatment.

As we saw earlier, the consequences of consequences of a stroke can be severe and can be severe and affect a person's quality of life. However, with proper rehabilitation and perseverance, a significant recovery can be achieved.

There are different treatments that can help a person who has suffered a stroke. It all depends on the after-effects of the stroke.

Improves motor recovery

Generally, in these cases, there is a loss of functional movement; motor weakness usually affects control of the arms or legs, interfering with simple activities such as walking, going up or down stairs, taking a shower or feeding oneself. The aim is for the person to recover the impaired movements and their functional capacity, in order to improve the development of those activities that are part of the patient's daily life.

In fact, as we have seen in a previous blog, clinical practice guidelines related to stroke, promote the use of FES to complement conventional occupational therapy.. This can improve rehabilitation outcomes and decrease recovery time. Especially if upper limb or gait is involved.

According to a study carried out in South Korea and published in NIHthere are significant improvements in upper limb motor recovery, thanks to the effects of mirror therapy in combination with FES and biofeedback. For example in wrist extension. This was demonstrated by manual muscle testing and range of motion. Progress was also seen in activities such as the Box and Bucket Test (BBT), the Jebsen & Taylor Hand Function Test (JHFT) and the Stroke Specific Quality Of Life scale (SS-QOL).

Therefore, this conjugation works for upper limb motor rehabilitation after stroke.

Help with range and pressure function

In this regard, FES therapy involving upper limb training has proven to be an effective intervention. 

A study conducted in the United Statestook 21 patients and divided them into two groups. One applied conventional therapy alone and the other added FES treatment. The latter showed better results in terms of object manipulation, palmar grasp, traction and had excellent results on the Barthel index and the Fugl-Meyer upper extremity scale.

Enhancing conventional therapy to improve swallowing

Functional electrostimulation treatment has emerged as an excellent complement to conventional speech therapy for swallowing disorders, a very common sequela among stroke victims.

Scientific analyses have proven the good results of this method in the rehabilitation of dysphagia. On the one hand, the therapy achieves a greater response and, on the other hand, it reduces rehabilitation times.

A study applied to patients with moderate to severe dysphagia who did not respond to conventional therapy received complementary electrostimulation therapy. The result was that 20 of the 23 patients had a noticeable improvement after 4 days in the case of moderate dysphagia, and between 3 and 30 days in those with severe dysphagia.