A stroke can cause weakness or paralysis on one side of the body; it may affect the whole side or just the arm or leg. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a therapy that delivers repeated electrical shocks to stroke survivors' affected limbs and has been shown to accelerate recovery. Despite its effectiveness, and that it is widely recommended in best practice guidelines, little is known about whether FES is actually being used in stroke rehabilitation programs.
Recently, TRI Scientist Dr. Kristin Musselman and her team distributed an online survey to physical therapists across Canada to determine how often physical therapists incorporate FES as part of their stroke rehabilitation programs. It included questions that measure the therapists' demographic characteristics, FES use, knowledge of FES literature and perceived obstacles to FES use.
Results from the survey revealed that the majority of physical therapists reported never or rarely using FES. However, over half of the 298 therapists who responded said that they would like to use it more. A lack of access to resources, including time, equipment and training, was the most frequently cited barrier to FES use.
"Our findings suggest that physical therapists are more likely to use FES if they have received hands-on training and guidance on how and when to apply it," says Dr. Musselman. "Improving access to resources, notably continuing education, may facilitate the implementation of FES into clinical practice, and ultimately accelerate the recovery of stroke survivors in Canada."
This work was supported by the School of Physical Therapy, University of Saskatchewan.
Physical therapists' use of functional electrical stimulation for clients with stroke: frequency, barriers, and facilitators. Auchstaetter N, Luc J, Lukye S, Lynd K, Schemenauer S, Whittaker M, Musselman KE. Physical Therapy. 2015 Dec 23. [Pubmed abstract]