Purposeful Activity-Based Electrical Stimulation Improves Activities of Daily Living in Patients with Subacute Stroke and Moderate-to-Severe Upper Limb Hemiparesis: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
Randomized trial demonstrates improved daily living independence after electrical stimulation in subacute stroke, suggesting clinical utility for upper limb hemiparesis.
Key Points
To preliminarily evaluate whether purposeful activity-based electrical stimulation therapy (PA-EST) improves independence in activities of daily living compared to conventional occupational therapy in patients with subacute stroke and moderate-to-severe upper limb hemiparesis.
Conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial of 16 inpatients with subacute stroke and moderate-to-severe upper limb hemiparesis at Kyoto Ohara Memorial Hospital in Japan.
Randomly assigned participants to receive either purposeful activity-based electrical stimulation therapy (PA-EST) or conventional occupational therapy (COT) for a 2-month intervention period.
Evaluated functional independence using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM motor, cognitive, and total scores) alongside secondary motor outcomes including the Motor Activity Log (MAL) and Fugl–Meyer Assessment.
Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance revealed significant interactions favoring PA-EST over COT for FIM-motor (p = 0.041) and FIM-total scores (p = 0.029).
A significant group-by-time interaction favored PA-EST on the Motor Activity Log Quality of Movement subscale (p = 0.005).
No significant interaction effects were detected for cognitive FIM, the MAL Amount of Use subscale, or the Fugl–Meyer Assessment scores.