Deans' stroke musings: FastFES Project - University of Delaware Physical Therapy

Changing stroke rehab and research worldwide now.Time is Brain! trillions and trillions of neurons that DIE each day because there are NO effective hyperacute therapies besides tPA(only 12% effective). I have 523 posts on hyperacute therapy, enough for researchers to spend decades proving them out. These are my personal ideas and blog on stroke rehabilitation and stroke research. Do not attempt any of these without checking with your medical provider. Unless you join me in agitating, when you need these therapies they won't be there.

What this blog is for:

My blog is not to help survivors recover, it is to have the 10 million yearly stroke survivors light fires underneath their doctors, stroke hospitals and stroke researchers to get stroke solved. 100% recovery. The stroke medical world is completely failing at that goal, they don't even have it as a goal. Shortly after getting out of the hospital and getting NO information on the process or protocols of stroke rehabilitation and recovery I started searching on the internet and found that no other survivor received useful information. This is an attempt to cover all stroke rehabilitation information that should be readily available to survivors so they can talk with informed knowledge to their medical staff. It lays out what needs to be done to get stroke survivors closer to 100% recovery. It's quite disgusting that this information is not available from every stroke association and doctors group.

Thursday, June 13, 2013

FastFES Project - University of Delaware Physical Therapy

Treadmill training testing. Have your therapist report back to you what the results show and any changes in your stroke protocol.
http://www.udel.edu/PT/Research/fastFES/
What is the FastFES project?

The FastFES project is a research study in the Department of Physical Therapy, funded by the National Institutes of Health, to study the effect of treadmill training on daily function and quality of life in people with hemiparesis after stroke. Currently, people who have had a stroke are randomly placed in 1 of 3 treadmill training groups. While on the treadmill, the first group walks at a comfortable pace, the second group walks at a faster pace, and the third group walks at a faster pace with electrical stimulation to ankle muscles. We are interested in seeing which group is able to show greater improvements in walking patterns, walking speed and reducing the energy cost of over ground walking.

All participants of the FastFES project will walk on a treadmill 3 times per week for 12 weeks under the supervision of a Research Physical Therapist.

Comfortable Pace Walking Group: Individuals in this group will walk on treadmill (with a safety harness) at a pace which is similar to the walking pace they use every day when moving around the house.

Faster Pace Walking Group: Individuals in this group will walk on the treadmill (with a safety harness) at a faster pace that is determined during a practice session.

FastFES Walking Group: Individuals in this group will walk at a faster pace on the treadmill with Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) to the muscles in the lower leg that control ankle movement. FES is a type of treatment that involves activating muscles with mild electrical pulses with a small portable stimulator during activity. Normally, the brain sends signals to muscles to contract and produce movement. When signals from the brain to the muscles are impaired, such as after a stroke, FES can be used to activate the muscles to produce movements that improve function. In addition, FES may also help individuals learn how to activate their muscles on their own.