Novel Therapy Aids Swallowing Recovery After Stroke

 Oh, your incompetent? doctor didn't get this installed years ago? And this hospital has the same incompetent  installation of rehab! DELAYS ARE INCOMPETENCE! Why are you accepting them?

Pharyngeal electrical stimulation (1 post to November 2020) 

Do you prefer your doctor, hospital and board of director's incompetence NOT KNOWING? OR NOT DOING? Your choice; let them be incompetent or demand action!

Novel Therapy Aids Swallowing Recovery After Stroke

A novel neurostimulation therapy designed to support the recovery of swallowing function in patients following a stroke is now available at Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital, following pilot work led by Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute earlier this year.

 

Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care is the first in Florida to implement this type of targeted pharyngeal neurostimulation therapy for post-stroke dysphagia, which differs from traditional swallowing rehabilitation by directly stimulating the neural pathways that control swallowing rather than relying solely on exercise-based therapy.

 

Experts with both institutes, which are part of Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care, say the treatment uses pharyngeal electrical stimulation (PES) delivered through a temporary catheter to activate sensory nerves in the throat. By helping reestablish the brain’s control of swallowing, they say, the approach may help patients return to oral nutrition sooner and lower the risk of complications related to impaired swallowing.

 

“Our initial patients made remarkable progress in their swallowing abilities and were able to advance their diets more quickly than expected."

 Lina Hurtado, M.D., physical medicine and rehabilitation physician, Baptist Health Miami Neuroscience Institute Early Experience at Miami Neuroscience Institute

Miami Neuroscience Institute conducted the initial pilot treatments with several stroke patients in the Institute’s intensive care unit (Neuro ICU). Those patients were attended to by a multidisciplinary team that included stroke services, nursing, speech-language pathology, rehabilitation, dietary services and physical medicine and rehabilitation.

“Our initial patients made remarkable progress in their swallowing abilities and were able to advance their diets more quickly than expected,” says Lina Hurtado, M.D., a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician at Miami Neuroscience Institute. “Post-stroke swallowing impairment is a complex challenge. Having another therapeutic option—supported by a well-coordinated team—can make a meaningful difference.” Marcus Neuroscience Institute Among First to Use PES Marcus Neuroscience Institute is among the first programs in the state to bring this PES therapy into clinical practice. Leaders credit the Institute’s long-standing focus on innovation and its commitment to exploring new ways to enhance patient outcomes “Introducing PES therapy reflects our dedication(YOU HAVE ZERO DEDICATION IF YOU'RE 5 YEARS LATE IN INSTALLING THERAPY! I'd have you all fired for incompetence! You're absolutely hopeless!) to advancing recovery options for patients,” says  Marcalee Sipski Alexander, M.D., physiatrist at Marcus Neuroscience Institute and medical director of the Cornell Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine at Bethesda Hospital East. “Helping patients regain the ability to swallow—often one of the most basic and most impactful functions after a stroke—is an important step in restoring independence.” The neurostimulation therapy is being used in the Institute’s Neuro ICU, with plans for broader staff training in other units as well. At Miami Neuroscience Institute, physicians plan to use PES across multiple units, including Neuro ICU, Progressive Care and Neuro-Telemetry. “Helping patients regain the ability to swallow—often one of the most basic and most impactful functions after a stroke—is an important step in restoring independence.” Marcalee Sipski Alexander, M.D., physiatrist, Marcus Neuroscience Institute, medical director, Cornell Institute for Rehabilitation Medicine at Bethesda Hospital East The PES therapy initiative reflects the Institutes’ collaboration and commitment(You have none if you are that far behind in installing therapy! You're fired!) to high quality brain and spine across South Florida. Teams at Marcus Neuroscience Institute and Miami Neuroscience Institute began exploring the therapy around the same time, allowing for shared learnings and coordinated planning.“Our goal is to ensure that our patients receive consistent, evidence-informed care, no matter where they are treated,” Dr. Hurtado says. “This collaboration—linking clinical teams, rehabilitation services and our neuroscience programs—embodies that.” 

What Patients Can Expect

Now that clinical use is underway, for patients recovering from a stroke, potential benefits of PES therapy include: Support in regaining swallowing ability A pathway that may speed resumption of oral intake Possible reduction in the need for feeding tubes in appropriate cases “Our shared aim is to help patients reclaim essential functions after a stroke,” Dr. Alexander says. “Even small improvements in swallowing can profoundly improve safety, comfort and quality of life.” for more information about stroke services and specialists with Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care.

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for balance and gait rehabilitation in stroke survivors: A systematic review and Meta-analysis

 

 Previous research didn't show much benefit from TENS.

TENS (8 posts to November 2017)

Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation for balance and gait rehabilitation in stroke survivors: A systematic review and Meta-analysis

Anas R Alashram 

› Author Affiliations

› Further InformationAbstract

• Full Text
• References
• Supplementary Material

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Abstract

Objectives

Balance and impairments are common consequences of stroke. For decades, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) has been used in stroke rehabilitation. This review aims to explore the effects of TENS on balance and gait deficits in stroke survivors and to identify its contraindications.

Methods

“PubMed, Scopus, PEDro, CINAHL, EMBASE, and Web of Science” were searched until February 2025. Randomized trials included stroke survivors, administrated TENS, compared with rest or active interventions, and included scales that assessed gait or balance abilities. The PEDro scale was used to determine the quality of the included studies. Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Version 4 was used for meta-analysis.

Results

Ten studies met the inclusion criteria. In total, 465 patients with stroke (mean age 58.84 years; 65% male) were involved in this review. The included studies&apos; PEDro scale scores ranged from 6 to 9, with a median of 8. The meta-analysis showed a potential effect of TENS on the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test (SMD: 0.458, 95% CI: –0.116 to 1.031, p=0.118, I²=75%), but the results were inconclusive due to lack of statistical significance and high heterogeneity. For gait, the meta-analysis showed a significant positive effect of TENS on the 10-Meter Walk Test (SMD=0.831, 95% CI: 0.448 to 1.214, p<0.001; I²=0%).

Conclusions

TENS may improve gait, but its effect on balance remains inconclusive. It is contraindicated in stroke patients with heart pacemakers, skin issues at the electrode site, severe cognitive impairments, sensory deficits, pregnancy, psychotic disorders, uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes, seizures, and severe heart or lung disease. Further studies are recommended.

More at link.

Early intervention with electrical stimulation reduces neural damage after stroke in non-human primates

 This means your competent? doctor and hospital will IMMEDIATELY GET HUMAN TESTING GOING! Oh no, they're incompetently DOING NOTHING!

Early intervention with electrical stimulation reduces neural damage after stroke in non-human primates

• Jasmine Zhou, 
• Karam Khateeb & 
• Azadeh Yazdan-Shahmorad 

Nature Communications volume 16, Article number: 6701 (2025) Cite this article

Abstract

For patients experiencing ischemic stroke, acute intervention offers the most critical therapeutic opportunity as it can reduce irreversible tissue injury and improve functional outcomes. However, currently available treatments within the acute window are highly limited and have strict patient selection criteria. Although emerging neuromodulation techniques have been proposed as a treatment for chronic stroke, acute stimulation is rarely studied due to concerns about exacerbating ischemia-induced electrical instability. Here, we demonstrate that acute cortical electrical stimulation, administered one hour post-stroke, provides neuroprotection in non-human primate brains. Using advanced electrophysiology and histology tools, we found that applying continuous theta burst electrical stimulation directly adjacent to the ischemic lesion significantly reduced neural activity in the surrounding tissue, as evidenced by lower electrocorticography signal power and c-Fos expression. This reduced depolarization was accompanied by decreases in neuroinflammation and infarct volume in the sensorimotor cortex. These findings suggest that acute electrical stimulation may serve as a safe and effective early intervention, offering a promising therapeutic strategy to improve outcomes in ischemic stroke.

Electromyography (EMG)-triggered transcutaneous spinal cord and hip stimulation for gait rehabilitation in persons with chronic stroke: a randomized, controlled trial

 Where is the protocol located so survivors can find it and deliver it to their therapists?

Electromyography (EMG)-triggered transcutaneous spinal cord and hip stimulation for gait rehabilitation in persons with chronic stroke: a randomized, controlled trial

• Mami Tani, 
• Tomofumi Yamaguchi, 
• Kaoru Honaga, 
• Yoko Takahashi, 
• Hidemi Kono, 
• Yuhei Murakami, 
• Reina Isayama, 
• Koshiro Haruyama, 
• Yuji Fujino, 
• Tadamitsu Matsuda, 
• Issei Fukunaga, 
• Masaaki Hori, 
• Akira Tanuma, 
• Futoshi Wada, 
• Kozo Hatori & 
• Toshiyuki Fujiwara 

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation volume 22, Article number: 154 (2025) Cite this article

Abstract

Background

Transcutaneous spinal stimulation has been applied to gait rehabilitation for persons with neurological diseases. The authors developed electromyography-triggered transcutaneous spinal cord and hip stimulation for gait rehabilitation and called this system FAST walk. This study aimed to assess the effect of FAST walk in a randomized, controlled trial.

Methods

All participants were randomly allocated to three groups: FAST walk combined with treadmill gait training (FAST walk); spinal stimulation combined with treadmill gait training (spinal stim); and treadmill gait training (treadmill). Participants performed two sets of 15-min treadmill gait training with 5-min intervals in the FAST walk, spinal stim, and treadmill groups. Gait training was performed twice weekly for a total of 10 sessions. The primary outcome was 10-m walking time. The secondary outcomes were the time symmetry index (TSI) with gait analysis and spinal reciprocal inhibition on the conditioned-test H reflex study.

Results

Twenty persons with chronic stroke participated in this study, and 17 persons completed this study. For the primary outcome, there was no significant interaction between time and intervention in 10-m walking time on two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (P = 0.382, η2 = 0.064). For the FAST walk group, 10-m walking time improved significantly at post and post-4w (P = 0.024 and 0.022, respectively). In the other groups, no significant improvements in 10-m walking time were seen at post and post-4w compared with before. There was also no significant between-group difference in the 10-m walking time.

Conclusions

The newly developed electromyography-triggered transcutaneous spinal cord and hip stimulation, FAST walk, is safe and may improve the gait speed of persons with chronic stroke. We did not, however, find a significant between-group difference among the FAST walk, spinal stim, and treadmill gait groups.

Trial registration: Japan Registry of Clinical Trial (JRCT registration ID: jRCTs032180289).

Introduction

Most persons with stroke suffer a gait disturbance. The goal of rehabilitation medicine is to help persons acquire independence of locomotion, and improvement of gait function is one of the primary goals of stroke rehabilitation. More than 80% of persons with stroke, however, show gait impairment [1]. A cohort study reported that 22% of persons with stroke did not regain any walking function [2]. Eighty percent of persons with stroke regained gait independence, but gait speed was limited. A previous study showed that gait speed determined the ambulation category of full community, limited community, and home ambulators [3], and gait impairment determined the participation of persons with stroke.

Conventional therapist-assisted gait training, muscle strengthening, partial weight-bearing treadmill gait training, robot-assisted gait training, and functional electrical stimulation have been applied in gait rehabilitation [4, 5].

Recently, spinal cord stimulation has been applied in gait rehabilitation for spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke [6,7,8,9,10]. Supra-threshold lumbosacral spinal cord stimulation generated smooth, coordinated, flexion–extension movements at the hip, knee, and ankle [11]. This finding suggested that there existed a spinal locomotor circuit in the spinal cord. Minassian et al. [12] showed that subthreshold transcutaneous spinal electrical stimulation at Th11-12 evoked posterior root muscle reflexes in bilateral quadriceps, hamstrings, tibialis anterior, and triceps surae muscles. This finding suggested that subthreshold spinal electrical stimulation might activate a large diameter of the dorsal root afferent nerves. Spinal electrical stimulation of the lumbosacral spinal cord modulates the activity of motor neurons by activating a large diameter of the dorsal root afferent nerve [13]. Continuous spinal stimulation induced rhythmic lower extremity EMG activity, and sub-threshold spinal stimulation increased muscle activities of the lower extremities in rats with spinal cord injuries [14]. It was supposed that there existed spinal locomotor circuit and this spinal locomotor circuitry consists of spinal reflexes (e.g., crossed extensor reflex, flexor reflex) and contributes to the stereotyped locomotive movement [15, 16].

Hip extension at the late stance phase may produce an initial swing of the paralyzed lower extremity [17]. The crossed extensor reflex induces the reciprocating hip movement [18]. Hip extension is a strong trigger of the crossed extensor reflex. Hip sensory afferents induced by hip movements regulate locomotion [19]. In patients with stroke, late stance assisted-hip extension decreased the primary sensorimotor cortex activity and promoted the rhythmic coordinated gait pattern [20]. It was supposed that assisted-hip extension enhances the activity of the spinal locomotor circuit and the effect of spinal stimulation in patients with stroke.

It is hypothesized that subthreshold spinal stimulation combined with hip extensor stimulation activates spinal locomotor circuitry in the spinal cord, which contributes to locomotion. We, therefore, developed a new electromyography (EMG)-triggered transcutaneous spinal and hip stimulation system called FAST walk.

This study aimed to assess the effect of FAST walk combined with treadmill training in persons with chronic stroke in a randomized, controlled trial (RCT). We hypothesized that FAST walk combined with treadmill training improves gait function compared to the spinal stimulation combined with treadmill training, and treadmill training.

More at link.

Low-frequency electrical stimulation effective for stimulation of the wrist extensors in patients after stroke

 I guess your incompetent? doctor did nothing with this 7 years ago!

Effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation for wrist rehabilitation after acute ischemic stroke September 2018

Do you prefer your doctor and hospital incompetence NOT KNOWING? OR NOT DOING?

The latest here:

Low-frequency electrical stimulation effective for stimulation of the wrist extensors in patients after stroke

Spinal stimulation helps stroke patients hit their stride

Is this enough proof for your doctor to get this brought in to your hospital? 

 

With spasticity being improper electrical signals from your spinal cord a competent stroke researcher could test whether this could prevent such disruption. Go ask your stroke doctor to contact stroke leadership to get this research done.

Do you prefer your  doctor and hospital  incompetence NOT KNOWING? OR NOT DOING?

Spinal stimulation helps stroke patients hit their stride

Researchers combined spinal cord stimulation with walking exercises to improve stroke survivors’ balance, walking symmetry, speed, and endurance.

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Posted on August 19, 2024 by Sciworthy

Image Credit: Photo by Miguel A Amutio on Unsplash

By Ophélie Legars-Tousignant

People have a stroke when blood flow to part of their brain is blocked, preventing brain tissue from getting oxygen and nutrients. Stroke is the main cause of disability in adults over 55. Despite advances in medical treatment and rehabilitation, 35% of stroke survivors still have difficulty with daily tasks because they struggle to walk or stand. Around 70% of stroke survivors have trouble walking, including slow speed, coordination issues, and an uneven stride.

Doctors have found these problems often occur when the routes spinal cord neurons use to transmit information from the brain to the body are disrupted. They’ve tried to reactivate neural paths that control movement by applying electrical pulses to stroke victims’ brains. Researchers have shown electrical pulses to the brain help stroke victims regain control of their fine-scale movements, but their ability to maintain a basic walking pattern relies on neural paths inside the spinal cord. So a team of scientists from the USA and Russia hypothesized that targeting the spinal cord could help stroke patients recover. 

To test whether electrical stimulation of the spinal cord could help stroke survivors walk again, the team applied electrodes to the skin over patients’ spinal cords, a method known as transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation or tSCS. Researchers in the past found that tSCS helps stroke patients walk more steadily and smoothly in the short term. However, this team wanted to test if tSCS could improve nerve and muscle functions to help patients walk better in the long term.

To measure how tSCS impacted stroke patients’ walking ability and muscle function, the researchers recruited 2 groups of 4 participants each. They minimized experimental bias by matching individuals in both groups by age, time since stroke, and walking speed. All the participants were over 18, had experienced a stroke at least 1 year ago, and could walk without support. The researchers conducted walking exercises with both groups to improve balance and movement 3 times a week for 8 weeks. They assigned only walking exercises to the first group, referred to as the control group, and combined walking exercises with tSCS for the second group, referred to as the stim group.

The researchers assessed how well each participant could walk before they did the walking exercises, immediately after the walking exercises, and 3 months later. They measured the symmetry of each participant’s steps using 2 metrics: how long their steps were and the swing time of their steps. They also measured how fast the participants walked and the distance they covered in 6 minutes. They collected these data by combining observations from a physical therapist with direct measurements from a mat with sensors. 

The team found that the stim group improved their step symmetry by 64% after walking exercises, while the control group improved their step symmetry by only 33%. The stim group also walked faster with more consistent swing time than the control group. All stim group participants and 1 control group participant could walk farther than they did before walking exercises, but only 1 participant from each group maintained this progress after 3 months. The researchers interpreted these changes to mean that combining tSCS with walking exercises helped stroke patients walk faster and longer. However, they cautioned that patients could lose these gains without continued treatment since only their step symmetry showed lasting improvement. 

The researchers also measured changes in the participants’ muscles and neurons before and after tSCS treatment and walking exercises. They explained that the more complex and numerous a person’s muscle groups are, the better control they have over their leg movements when walking. So they considered how the patients’ muscle groups worked together when walking, known as their muscle synergy. To examine muscle synergy, the researchers measured the activity of 5 leg muscles for each participant by placing sensors on their skin that detected electrical signals when the muscles contracted. They found that 2 stim group participants had better muscle coordination after walking exercises and tSCS. The researchers interpreted these results to mean that tSCS helped improve the participants’ muscle coordination during walking.

The researchers concluded that electrical stimulation of the spinal cord helped some stroke survivors walk better than before. However, they suggested personalized training and customized stimulation settings could make tSCS more effective by addressing each patient’s individual challenges. They also suggested researchers conduct longer trials with a larger number of participants to better understand the lasting effects of tSCS and to apply their findings to stroke victims more widely.

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Study Information

Original study: Noninvasive spinal stimulation improves walking in chronic stroke survivors: a proof-of-concept case series

Study was published on: April 1, 2024

Study author(s): Yaejin Moon, Chen Yang, Nicole C. Veit, Kelly A. McKenzie, Jay Kim, Shreya Aalla, Lindsey Yingling, Kristine Buchler, Jasmine Hunt, Sophia Jenz, Sung Yul Shin, Ameen Kishta, V. Reggie Edgerton, Yury P. Gerasimenko, Elliot J. Roth, Richard L. Lieber, Arun Jayaraman

The study was done at: Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (USA), Northwestern University (USA), Syracuse University (USA), Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center (USA), University of Southern California (USA), University of Louisville (USA), Pavlov Institute of Physiology (Russia), Hines VA Medical Center (USA)

The study was funded by: National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Defense (DoD), Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Shirley Ryan AbilityLab

Raw data availability: None provided

Featured image credit: Photo by Miguel A Amutio on Unsplash

This summary was edited by: Aubrey Zerkle

 

Augmenting Hand and Arm Function for Persons with Hemiparesis

So not surgery: Transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) is a non-invasive form of neuromodulation in which electrodes are placed on the skin and used to stimulate the spinal circuitries via an electrical current.(Why not use something similar to disrupt the spasticity signals sent from the spinal cord?)

Ask your competent? doctor if vagus nerve stimulation is better than this. 

 Augmenting Hand and Arm Function for Persons with Hemiparesis

Abstract

Background. 

 

Hand and arm dysfunction due to neural disorders significantly influences quality of life.
Activity-based training has been found to improve function. These improvements could be augmented
with transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (tSCS) due to the modulatory effect it has on spinal and
supraspinal networks. 

 

Objective.

 

 The primary aim is to determine if a 4-week training program will improve hand and arm function. The secondary aim is to determine if the addition of tSCS to a second
4-week training session will further improve function. 

 

Design. 

 

This is a pre-posttest, controlled trial for persons 10-75 years of age, >6 months post stroke or with unilateral cerebral palsy.

 

Methods. 

 

Participants will engage in two 4-week training periods, 3x/week for 2 hours/day. The 1st period will include unimanual and bimanual training alone. The 2nd period will be augmented with low frequency tSCS to the C5-T1 spinal region. Stimulation intensity will be based on individual muscle activation during 3 tasks: 1) grip dynamometry; 2) grip-lift; and 3) target pointing. Outcome measures taken before, midway, and after training are: Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM), dexterity, daylong arm use, grip/pinch strength, sensibility, questionnaires, bilateral hand/arm surface electromyography, and Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer (UEFM). 

 

Results:

 

 Nine participants have completed the 1st 4-week training period without mtSCS. Individual data reveals improvements in the COPM, Grip strength, dexterity, and the UEFM. Findings for other measures after the 1st period are mixed or in process. 

 

Conclusion:

 

Preliminary findings from this ongoing study reveal that participants made improvements in most measures. The next phase of the study will determine if the addition of tSCS to training further augments hand and arm function.
DisciplinesDisciplines
Neurosciences | Physical Therapy
AuthorsAuthors
Brooke Stein, Susan Duff, Alison McKenzie, Bailey Advincula, Isaac An, Annie Jeon, Casey McWilliam, Will
Potter, Virginia Ruano, Paulina Vokulich, Audrey Howell, and Rahul Soangra

Effects of combining robot-assisted therapy with neuromuscular electrical stimulation on motor impairment, motor and daily function, and quality of life in patients with chronic stroke: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial

 Good luck finding a therapy department that has all this and knows how to use it. As a chronic survivor you likely have no doctor or therapy visits anymore so this research doesn't help at all.

Effects of combining robot-assisted therapy with neuromuscular electrical stimulation on motor impairment, motor and daily function, and quality of life in patients with chronic stroke: a double-blinded randomized controlled trial

Ya-yun Lee 1,2, 

Keh-chung Lin 3,4, 

Hsiao-ju Cheng 3, 

Ching-yi Wu 1,2*, 

Yu-wei Hsieh 1,2
and Chih-kuang Chen 5,6

Abstract

Background:
 Robot-assisted therapy (RT) is a widely used intervention approach to enhance motor recovery inpatients after stroke, but its effects on functional improvement remained uncertain. Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is one potential adjuvant intervention approach to RT that could directly activate the stimulated muscles and improve functional use of the paretic hand.
Methods:
 This was a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study. Thirty-nine individuals with chronic stroke were randomly assigned to the RT combined with NMES (RT+ ES) or to RT with sham stimulation (RT+Sham) groups. The participants completed the intervention 90 to 100 minutes/day, 5 days/week for 4 weeks. The outcome measuresincluded the upper extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (UE-FMA), modified Ashworth scale (MAS), Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT), Motor Activity Log (MAL), and Stroke Impact Scale 3.0 (SIS). All outcome measures were assessed before and after intervention, and the UE-FMA, MAL, and SIS were reassessed at 3 months of follow-up.
Results:
 Compared with the RT+Sham group, the RT +ES group demonstrated greater improvements in wrist flexor MAS score, WMFT quality of movement, and the hand function domain of the SIS. For other outcome measures, both groups improved significantly after the interventions, but no group differences were found.
Conclusion:
 RT +ES induced significant benefits in reducing wrist flexor spasticity and in hand movement quality inpatients with chronic stroke.
Trial registration:
 ClinicalTrials.gov. NCT01655446
Keywords:
 Stroke, Robot-assisted therapy, Electrical stimulation, Rehabilitation
* Correspondence: cywu@mail.cgu.edu.tw
1
Department of Occupational Therapy and Graduate Institute of Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 259 Wenhua 1st Rd, Taoyuan, Taiwan
2
Healthy Aging Research Center, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanFull list of author information is available at the end of the article

Spine-zapping stroke breakthrough allows survivors to do everyday tasks again: Watch life-changing effects in woman left unable to use a knife and fork for almost a decade

No comments on whether the movements continue after the stimulation is turned off. So bad research because they didn't measure the right things. The mentors and senior researchers need to be retrained in stroke research. The whole point of stroke research is to get survivors 100% recovered! This fell short of that. 

Spine-zapping stroke breakthrough allows survivors to do everyday tasks again: Watch life-changing effects in woman left unable to use a knife and fork for almost a decade

• Around three-quarters of stroke survivors lose movement down one side of body
• Heather Rendulic suffered five strokes from a burst blood vessel in her brain 
• But electrical stimulation of spinal cord helped her regain movement in left arm

By Victoria Allen Science Editor For The Daily Mail

Updated: 19:40 EST, 20 February 2023

Zapping people who have had a stroke with electricity could help them to do daily tasks easily again.

Around three-quarters of people who suffer a stroke lose movement down one side of their body, severely affecting their everyday life.

But electrical stimulation of the spinal cord has helped one woman, Heather Rendulic, eat with a knife and fork for the first time in almost a decade.

Previously unable to fully close her left hand, the technology helped her to grip a fork, spear a steak, use her right hand to cut it, and lift the fork up to her mouth to eat.

The breakthrough was made in a study involving two women who had suffered strokes.

Electrical stimulation of the spinal cord has helped one woman, Heather Rendulic (hand pictured), eat with a knife and fork for the first time in almost a decade

Previously unable to fully close her left hand, the technology helped Mrs Rendulic (pictured) to grip a fork, spear a steak, use her right hand to cut it, and lift the fork up to her mouth to eat 

• 
  

The results show a 40 per cent increased grip for Mrs Rendulic after being zapped with small, continuous pulses of electricity.

A second woman, aged 47, who was left more severely weak after a stroke, saw her grip strength more than double.

Electric stimulation has previously been principally used to help people with spinal cord injuries regain movement.

How does the device work? 

A life-changing stroke breakthrough has allowed survivors to regain motion of their arm and hands.

The technology sees a pair of thin metal electrodes — resembling strands of spaghetti — placed along the neck, in line with where the spinal cord is.

These deliver pulses of electricity that activate nerve cells inside the spinal cord.

It amplifies the activity of muscles that have been weakened by stroke. 

As a result, stroke patients were fully open and close their fist and lift their arm above their head.

They could also use a fork and knife to cut a piece of steak for the first time in years.

The technology is already used to treat chronic pain. 

And previous studies showed that spinal cord stimulation can restore movement to the legs after spinal cord injury.

There was some limited evidence that it could also help people following strokes, but researchers say they have now worked out the precise position and programming for the electrodes which can provide consistent results.

The key to the therapy is boosting nerves called 'dorsal roots' at the top of the spinal cord, which can trigger muscles in the arms and hands to respond to weak signals from the brain.

Mrs Rendulic, who suffered five strokes in 11 months from a burst blood vessel in her brain, which happened in 2011, was able to pick up a can of soup and unlock a padlock.

She had a laboratory of scientists in tears after regaining movement in her left hand within minutes of the stimulation being switched on.

Dr Marco Capogrosso, senior author of the study, from the University of Pittsburgh, said: 'The first day, with the first patient, when she opened her hand after nine years, was a particularly intense moment because obviously she started crying and we all started crying.

'The whole lab was crying - I mean, we didn't really expect that this could work as fast, like that.'

On the results, Mrs Rendulic, a human resources manager, who had to relearn how to walk following her initial strokes, said: 'It's just awesome, because I can move my arm and hand in ways I haven't done in over a decade.'

The study is at an early stage, and only in two people so far, which makes it difficult to know how safe and effective the therapy would be if it were used widely.

To have the stimulation, Mrs Rendulic and a second woman aged 47 had to undergo surgery to have two wires studded with electrodes implanted, which stretch from the neck down to the top of the ribs.

• 
  

The key to the therapy is boosting nerves called 'dorsal roots' at the top of the spinal cord (shown on scan), which can trigger muscles in the arms and hands to respond to weak signals from the brain 

• 
  

Mrs Rendulic, who suffered five strokes in 11 months from a burst blood vessel in her brain, which happened in 2011, was able to pick up a can of soup (pictured) and unlock a padlock 

But over 29 days of stimulation, both women improved their abilities.

Mrs Rendulic, who was less weak on one side from her strokes, saw better results than the other volunteer, whose stroke happened more recently, three years before the study.

She was able to draw a spiral more precisely, open her hand fully, and lift her arm straight up above her head, where previously she could only raise it to shoulder height.

The effects, reported in the journal Nature Medicine, lasted longer than expected - even after the stimulation was switched off.

Mrs Rendulic still scored significantly higher on a test of arm and hand function than she had before the study.

Experts believe electrical stimulation may help to retrain the brain to perform movements again, which could help with rehabilitation.