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Updated: Feb 16, 2026

Paradigms of Lower Extremity Electrical Stimulation Training After Spinal Cord Injury
Published on: February 1, 2018
Short-term effects of electrical nerve stimulation on spinal reciprocal inhibition depend on gait phase during
Hiroki Obata1, Tetsuya Ogawa1, Matija Milosevic1
1Department of Life Sciences, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Japan.
Abstract:
A combination of electrical nerve stimulation (ENS) and passive or active cyclic movements (i.e., pedaling and stepping) has been suggested to induce stronger short-term effects in spinal circuits as compared to either intervention alone. The purpose of the present study is to determine whether the effects of ENS during passive stepping are dependent on the timing of the stimulation during the stepping cycle. A total of 10 able-bodied participants were recruited for the study. Two interventions were assessed during passive ground stepping: (1) ENS of the common peroneal nerve (CPN) during the swing phase (ENSswing) and (2) stance phase (ENSstance). ENS was applied at the motor threshold intensity on the tibialis anterior muscle for a total of 30 min. Spinal reciprocal inhibition (RI) was assessed by conditioning the H-reflex in the soleus muscle with electrical stimulation to the CPN before (baseline), as well as 5, 15, and 30 min after each intervention. Compared to the baseline, the amount of RI was increased 5 and 15 min after the ENSswing intervention, whereas it was decreased after the ENSstance intervention. This suggests that ENS has a phase-dependent effect on RI during passive stepping. Overall, the results imply that phase-dependent timing of ENS is essential for guiding plasticity in the spinal circuits.
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