Abstract
Fornusek C, Davis GM, Baek I. Stimulation of shank muscles during functional electrical
stimulation cycling increases ankle excursion in individuals with spinal cord injury.
Objective
To investigate the effect of shank muscle stimulation on ankle joint excursion during
passive and functional electrical stimulation (FES) leg cycling.
Design
Within-subject comparisons.
Setting
Laboratory setting.
Participants
Well-trained FES cyclists (N=7) with chronic spinal cord injuries.
Interventions
Two experimental sessions were performed on an isokinetic FES cycle ergometer with
a pedal boot that allowed the ankle to plantarflex and dorsiflex during cycling. During
the first session, the optimal stimulation timings to induce plantarflexion and dorsiflexion
were investigated by systematically altering the stimulation angles of the shank muscles
(tibialis anterior [TA] and triceps surae [TS]). During the second session, TA and
TS stimulation was included with standard FES cycling (quadriceps, hamstrings, and
gluteals) for 6 subjects.
Main Outcome Measures
Ankle, knee, and hip movements were analyzed using 2-dimensional video.
Results
The ankle excursions during passive cycling were 19°±6°. TA and TS stimulation increased
ankle joint excursion up to 33°±10° and 27°±7°, respectively. Compared with passive
cycling, ankle joint excursion was not significantly increased during standard FES
cycling (24°±7°). TA and TS stimulation significantly increased the ankle excursion
when applied during standard FES cycling (41°±4°).
Conclusions
Freeing the ankle joint to rotate during FES cycling was found to be safe. The combination
of shank muscle stimulation and repetitive ankle joint movement may be beneficial
for improving ankle flexibility and leg conditioning. Further research is required
to test and design ankle supports that might maximize the benefits of shank muscle
activation.
Key Words
List of Abbreviations:
ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association), FES (functional electrical stimulation), ROM (range of motion), SCI (spinal cord injury), TA (tibialis anterior), TS (triceps surae)To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 28, 2012
Footnotes
Supported by the Faculty of Health Sciences Postdoctoral Fellowship program (University of Sydney).
No commercial party having a direct financial interest in the results of the research supporting this article has or will confer a benefit on the authors or on any organization with which the authors are associated.
Reprints are not available from the author.
In-press corrected proof published online on Jul 3, 2012, at www.archives-pmr.org.
Identification
Copyright
© 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
