Functional Electrical Stimulation to Treat Foot Drop as a Result of an Upper Motor Neuron Lesion

Abstract

Foot drop or dropped foot is a common gait problem in many people with an upper motor neuron lesion such as people after a stroke, people with Multiple Sclerosis and children and adults with Cerebral Palsy. This chapter explains the action of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) to the pre-tibial muscles in order to treat foot drop and how it can be adapted to the walking pattern of the individual patients by altering the stimulation patterns. The potential benefits of using FES to treat foot drop, the outcome measures used to assess these benefits and evidence for these benefits for three different clinical populations form the main part of this chapter. Finally, future directions of research into FES are summarised. Springer International Publishing AG 2017. All rights reserved.