Article

Sensory amplitude electrical stimulation (SES) and repetitive task
practice reduce impairments and arm dysfunction when delivered separately
following stroke. OBJECTIVE:
To determine if home-based, task-specific arm
exercise was more effective when administered concurrent with SES. METHODS:
Thirty-eight subjects with chronic stroke and mean Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA)
score 28/66 (15-45) participated. Subjects were randomly assigned to an SES (n =
20) or sham stimulation (n = 18) group. Subjects engaged in task-based home
exercise for 30 minutes, twice daily, for four weeks while wearing a glove
electrode on the impaired hand. Experimental subjects received SES while control
subjects received sham stimulation during exercise. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: FMA and Arm Motor Ability Test (AMAT). RESULTS:
There were no significant
between-group differences for outcome measures. There was a significant
difference between the pre- and post-test scores in the SES group AMAT median
time (P = 0.003 95% confidence interval (CI): -14.304, -6.365; effect size:
0.84). Practice time was not associated with changes in outcomes. Subjects with
more sensorimotor dysfunction had significantly greater improvements on AMAT
median time (P = 0.037).
There was a significant relationship between baseline
FMA score and FMA change score (r = 0.402; P = 0.006). CONCLUSIONS: This study
describes a unique SES delivery system via glove electrode that enabled delivery
of SES during home-based arm task practice in stroke survivors. Task practice
with concurrent SES did not demonstrate significantly better effects than task
practice with sham stimulation, however there was a trend for greater improvement
in one activity measure.

Langue : ANGLAIS