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Short-Term Facility-Based Functional Electrical Stimulation for Chronic Post-Stroke Foot Drop: A Pilot Study
Diana-Lidia Tache-Codreanu1, Ioana Angela Rotaru1, Mihai-Andrei Butum-Cristea1
1Medical Rehabilitation Department, Colentina Clinical Hospital, Stefan cel Mare Street No. 19-21, 020125 Bucharest, Romania.
Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)
|February 27, 2026
Summary
A short rehabilitation program using Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) improved function in chronic stroke patients with foot drop. Significant improvements were seen in daily activities and mobility, with over half responding to treatment.
Area of Science:
- Neurorehabilitation
- Biomedical Engineering
Background:
- Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) is used in stroke rehabilitation for foot drop.
- Limited evidence exists for short, facility-based FES programs in chronic stroke patients.
- This study explores functional outcomes of such a program.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effectiveness of a short, facility-based rehabilitation program incorporating FES.
- To assess functional improvements in chronic stroke survivors with foot drop.
Main Methods:
- 14 chronic stroke patients with foot drop participated in a 10-day program.
- FES was applied during walking, synchronized to the swing phase.
- Clinical outcome measures assessed activities of daily living and mobility.
Main Results:
- Statistically significant improvements were observed in all outcome measures.
- Improvements were sustained at a 3-month follow-up.
- Over 50% of participants met the minimal clinically important difference (MCID) criteria.
Conclusions:
- A short, multimodal rehabilitation program including FES shows promise for improving function in chronic stroke patients.
- Findings are exploratory due to the multimodal nature of the intervention.
- Further research is needed to isolate the effects of FES.
