The effect of EMG triggered electrical stimulation plus task practice on arm function in chronic stroke patients with moderate-severe arm deficits

So 7 years, WHAT THE FUCK HAS YOUR HOSPITAL DONE WITH THIS?

Or is your doctor and stroke hospital doing nothing with this? Do you prefer your incompetence NOT KNOWING? OR NOT DOING?

Their reasons for doing nothing?

Laziness? Incompetence? Or just don't care? No leadership? No strategy? Not my job?

The latest here.

The effect of EMG triggered electrical stimulation plus task practice on arm function in chronic stroke patients with moderate-severe arm deficits

 2013, Restorative neurology and neuroscience

 
Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience 31 (2013) 681–691DOI 10.3233/RNN-130319IOS Press
681

Barbara J. Singer a,∗, 

Ann-Maree Vallence b,1, 

Sarah Cleary c, 

Ian Cooper c 

and Andrea M. Loftus b,2

a The Centre for Musculoskeletal Studies, School of Surgery, The University of Western Australia, Perth,WA, Australia
b School of Psychology, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA
c Physiotherapy Department, Sir Charles Gardiner Hospital, Perth, WA

Abstract

Purpose:
 We examined the feasibility and outcome of electromyographically triggered electrical muscle stimulation (EMG-ES)plus unilateral or bilateral task specific practice on arm function in chronic stroke survivors with moderate-severe hemiplegia. Transcranial magnetic stimulation was used to examine inter-hemispheric inhibition (IHI) acting on the stroke affected hemisphere in a subset of eight participants.
Methods:
 Twenty-one stroke survivors (14 males; mean time post stroke 57.9 months) participated in this pilot investigation.Participants underwent a six-week program of daily EMG-ES training with random assignment to concurrent task practice using the stroke-affected hand only or both hands. The upper-extremity subscale of the Fugl-Meyer (FMUE) and the Arm Motor Ability Test (AMAT) were completed at baseline, 0-, 1-, and 3-months post-intervention.
Results:
 Following the intervention, FMUE (F_(3,57)=3.89, p=.01, η^p2=.17) and AMAT (F_(3,57)=12.6, p=.01, η^p2=.39) scores improved, and remained better than baseline at three months re-assessment. The difference between groups was not significant.A non-significant decrease in IHI was observed post-intervention.
Conclusions:
An intensive program of EMG-ES assisted functional training is feasible, well tolerated, and leads to improvements in moderate-severe deficits of arm function post stroke. Larger placebo controlled studies are needed to explore any advantage of bilateral over unilateral EMG-ES assisted training.
 ∗
Corresponding author: BarbaraJ.Singer, PTPhD,FACP,Centrefor Musculoskeletal Studies, School of Surgery, The Univer-sity of Western Australia, Park Avenue campus M424, WA,Australia. Tel.: +61 8 6488 7079; Fax: +61 86488 7079; E-mail:barbara.singer@uwa.edu.au.
1
School of Psychology, Curtin University, Perth, WA.
2
Robinson Institute, School of Paediatrics and ReproductiveHealth, University of Adelaide.