Improving limb flexion in FES gait using the flexion withdrawal response for the spinal cord injured person

In the restoration of gait for paraplegics using functional electrical stimulation, the method most commonly used to produce hip flexion for the swing phase of gait has been the elicitation of the flexion withdrawal response. Several problems have been noted with the response: there is a decrease in the magnitude of the hip flexion to repeated stimuli (habituation); long latency; and inhibition of the response when stimulated bilaterally. These have been characterized and methods for overcoming the problems tested. Results show that increasing stimulation frequency reduces latency. Habituation can be reduced in some subjects by multiplexing two sites of stimulation. Habituation can further be reduced by applying single high-intensity pulses and this has been used in a one-step-ahead controller for regulating hip flexion angle. Inhibition due to bilateral stimulation had been significantly reduced by altering the timing of the stimulation to the two legs.