Feasibility of Smartphone-Based Exercise Training Integrated with Functional Electrical Stimulation After Stroke...

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Digital Health
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Home-based stroke rehabilitation often lacks multi-domain approaches.
• Existing digital interventions may not adequately address older adults with stroke (OAwS) and significant motor impairment.
• OAwS with high motor impairment need supplementary tools for challenging exercises.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility of Smartphone-based Exercise Training after Stroke (SETS) integrated with Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES).
• To evaluate safety, adherence, motivation, acceptability, attitude, and usability of the SETS-FES intervention.
• To measure short-term clinical improvements in gait and balance function.

Main Methods:

• 12 participants (mean age 67 years) with chronic stroke and moderate-to-high leg motor impairment (Chedoke McMaster Leg ≤ 4/7) completed 6 weeks of training.
• Training involved multicomponent exercises (gait, strength, balance) using SETS with FES applied to paretic lower limb muscles.
• Feasibility assessed via safety, adherence; secondary outcomes included motivation, usability, and clinical gait/balance tests (10-Meter Walk Test, Mini-BESTest).

Main Results:

• No adverse events were reported, indicating a safe intervention.
• High adherence (84.17%) and significant improvements (up to 40%) in motivation, acceptability, attitude, and usability were observed.
• Participants demonstrated statistically significant pre-post improvements in all gait and balance measures (p < 0.05).

Conclusions:

• Integrating SETS with FES is a feasible approach for home-based stroke rehabilitation.
• This combined intervention shows potential for short-term gains in gait and balance function in OAwS with motor impairments.
• Further research with control groups is needed to confirm efficacy and delineate SETS and FES contributions.