Turkish Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2007 , Vol 53 , Num 1

Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation and Functional Electrical Stimulation in Patients with Cerebrovascular Accident

Ferda Özdemir 1 ,Derya DEMİRBAĞ KABAYEL 2
1 Trakya Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Fiziksel Tıp ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, Edirne
2 Trakya Üniversitesi Tıp Fakültesi, Fizik Tedavi ve Rehabilitasyon Anabilim Dalı, Edirne,Türkiye

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is one of the therapeutic strategies that are applied to improve impaired extremity function. NMES has been claimed to have a positive effect on spasticity, range of motion (ROM), and muscle strength. There are no clear knowledge about the efficacy and optimal stimulation strategy of NMES. The term functional electrical stimulation (FES) has been used casually to describe various applications of NMES. While NMES generally is considered to have therapeutic applications, such as increasing ROM, facilitation of muscle activation, and muscle strengthening, the key to application of FES is to enhance or facilitate functional control. It is used with clients with spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, cerebrovascular accident, and other central nervous system dysfunction, which have intact peripheral innervation. 

Keywords : Neuromuscular electrical stimulation, functional electrical stimulation, cerebrovascular accident