Immediate effects of electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement on gait velocity and spasticity in persons with hemiparetic stroke: a randomized controlled study

Objective: Research to examine the immediate effects of electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement on gait velocity and spasticity. Design: A single-masked, randomized controlled trial design. Subjects: Twenty-seven stroke inpatients in subacute phase (ischemic n=16, hemorrhagic n=11). Interventions: A novel approach using electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement. Main measures: We assessed the maximum gait speed and modified Ashworth scale before and 20 minutes after the interventions. Results: The gait velocity of the electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement group showed the increase form 0.68 +/- 0.28 (mean +/- SD, unit: m) to 0.76 +/- 0.32 after the intervention. Both the electrical stimulation group and passive locomotion-like movement group also showed increases after the interventions (from 0.76 +/- 0.37 to 0.79 +/- 0.40, from 0.74 +/- 0.35 to 0.77 +/- 0.36, respectively). The gait velocity of the electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement group differed significantly from those of the other groups (electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement versus electrical stimulation: P=0.049, electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement versus passive locomotion-like movement: P=0.025). Although there was no statistically significant difference in the modified Ashworth scale among the three groups, six of the nine subjects (66.6%) in the electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement group showed improvement in the modified Ashworth scale score, while only three of the nine subjects (33.3%) in the electrical stimulation group and two of the nine subjects (22.2%) improved in the passive locomotion-like movement group. Conclusion: These findings suggest electrical stimulation combined with passive locomotion-like movement could improve gait velocity in stroke patients.