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Título

WHICH ELECTRICAL MUSCLE STIMULATION INCREASES CYCLICAL PERFORMANCE IN HEMIPLEGIC PATIENTS? AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

Resumo

Introduction: FES-assisted cycling is an intervention used in the rehabilitation of post-stroke hemiplegic individuals. However, it is necessary to establish electrostimulation parameters for the optimal effect of the intervention. Objective: To investigate the different conditions of FES-assisted cycling in the motor and cardiorespiratory performance of hemiplegic individuals and to understand the perception, credibility, and expectation of participants in each condition. Methods: These are preliminary data of an ongoing experimental study. The volunteers with stroke were recruited from the local community and the measures of cycling were collected under four different experimental conditions applied in a randomized sequence on the same day. Three different conditions (C1, C2, and C3) used electrostimulation in the quadriceps and hamstrings muscles. The C1 added electrostimulation to the tibialis anterior while the C2 to the gastrocnemius. In these first two conditions, the pedal used enables ankle movement, while C3 blocks ankle movement. A fourth control setup (C4) was performed without any electrostimulation. For each condition, motor performance was measured by the mean rotation per minute (RPM), cardiorespiratory performance was assessed by mean heart rate (HR) and at the end, the participant completed the Credibility and Expectation Questionnaire (QCE). The individuals’ perception was analyzed through the mode of the answers to each item of the QCE. Descriptive and inferential statistics were performed applying MANOVA. Result: Five individuals (59.4 ± 8.7) years old; 60% male; 50 weeks after an ischemic stroke) were evaluated. The prevalence of hemiplegia was in the left limb [60%] and the level of disability measured by the Modified Rankin Scale was rated as one individual with severe disability (Rankin 4), 3 with moderate disability (Rankin 3), and one with mild disability (Rankin 2). Related to the conditions, there was no difference between the four setups regarding RPM and HR measurements [Pillai's Trace=0.993; F (6.32)=0.459; p=0.833]. Nevertheless C1, C2 and C3 were considered more logical and promising by the participants and in addition, the C3 was considered the most comfortable. Conclusion: It was observed that, by the individual perception, the setup C3 has greater potential to improve motor and cardiorespiratory performance. However, these results should be interpreted with caution until the study is completed.

Palavras Chave

Stroke; Paresis; Neurological rehabilitation; Functional electrical stimulation; Cycling