Neuromuscular stimulation in spinal cord injury: I: Restoration of functional movement of the extremities.

The spinal cord injured patient has been the focus of clinical and research efforts to restore functional movement and obtain therapeutic benefits by electric stimulation of upper-motor-neuron paralyzed muscles. Our review articles treat developments in this field from 1983 to 1990. Efforts have been directed to restoring hand function, standing, and walking (covered in part I), as well as prevention of secondary complications through ventilatory function, bladder function, and achieving therapeutic effects of electric stimulation (covered in Part II). The technology for hand function, standing, and walking is used primarily in the research laboratory, as clinical applications are minimal. Much work remains to be done to solve the difficult problems associated with applying this promising technology to spinal cord injury.