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Effect of functional electrical stimulation on activity in children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review
1Department of Physical Therapy (Dr Chiu), I-Shou University, Taiwan; Discipline of Physiotherapy (Dr Ada), The University of Sydney, Australia.
Insights
Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is more effective than no FES for children with cerebral palsy. However, FES shows similar effectiveness compared to activity-based training alone.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Neurology
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Cerebral palsy (CP) is a common childhood neurological disorder affecting movement and posture.
- Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a therapeutic modality used to improve motor function.
- Activity-based training is a standard rehabilitation approach for children with CP.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation (FES) in children with spastic cerebral palsy.
- To compare the efficacy of FES combined with activity training against activity training alone.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) sourced from multiple databases (MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science, PEDro).
- Inclusion criteria: children (<18 years) with spastic cerebral palsy undergoing FES during activity practice.
- Outcome measures focused on activity-specific improvements.
Main Results:
- Five RCTs were included in the analysis.
- Three trials indicated statistically significant benefits of FES over no FES.
- Two trials found no significant difference between FES and activity training alone.
Conclusions:
- Current evidence suggests FES is beneficial compared to no intervention for children with cerebral palsy.
- FES demonstrates comparable effectiveness to activity-based training when used for children with cerebral palsy.
Purpose:
To determine whether functional electrical stimulation (FES) is effective and whether it is more effective than activity training alone.
Method:
MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Cochrane, Web of Science, and PEDro databases were searched for randomized trials. Studies of randomized trials were included if the participants were children (<18 years old) with spastic cerebral palsy, who underwent a program of FES that involved electrical stimulation during practice of an activity. Measures of activity that best reflected the activity trained were examined.
Results:
Five randomized trials were included. Three trials reported statistically significant between-group differences in favor of FES compared with no FES. Two trials reported no statistically significant between-group differences of FES compared with activity training alone.
Conclusion:
The available evidence suggests that FES is more effective than no FES but that it has a similar effect as activity training alone in cerebral palsy.
