Physical therapy
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Therapeutic effect of an implantable peroneal nerve stimulator in subjects with chronic stroke and footdrop: a randomized controlled trial.
Footdrop, characterized by a person's inability to raise the foot at the ankle, is a common problem in patients with stroke. A randomized controlled trial was performed to determine the therapeutic effect of using a new implantable, 2-channel peroneal nerve stimulator for 6 months versus an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). ⋯ Functionally, no therapeutic effect of implantable peroneal nerve stimulation was found. However, the significantly increased voluntary muscle output of the TA and GS muscles after the use of FES suggests that there was a certain extent of plasticity in the subjects in this study.