Miller Linda, Rafferty Danny, Paul Lorna, Mattison Paul
a MS Service, NHS Ayrshire and Arran , Scotland, UK.
b School of Health and Life Sciences, Glasgow Caledonian University , Glasgow , Scotland, UK , and.
Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol. 2015 Nov;10(6):482-485. doi: 10.3109/17483107.2014.898340. Epub 2014 Mar 17.
Functional electrical stimulation (FES), an assistive device used for foot drop, has been found to improve the speed and energy cost of walking in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). This study aims to compare the immediate orthotic effect on walking of two different devices; the Odstock Dropped Foot Stimulator (ODFS) and Walkaide (WA).
Twenty pwMS (10 female, 10 male, mean age 50.4 ± 7.3 years) currently using ODFS were recruited. Participants walked for 5 min around an elliptical 9.5 m course at their preferred walking speed; once with ODFS, once with WA and once without FES on the same day of testing. Gait speed, distance and energy cost were measured.
There was a statistically significant increase in walking speed for the ODFS (p = 0.043) and a near to significant increase for the WA (p = 0.06) in comparison to without FES. There were no differences between the ODFS and WA in terms of either walking speed (p = 0.596) or energy cost (p = 0.205).
This is the first pilot study to compare the effects of two different FES devices on walking. Further research recruiting a larger cohort of FES naive participants is needed. Implications for Rehabilitation Functional electrical stimulation (FES) used for foot drop in multiple sclerosis (MS) is effective in improving the speed of walking. The Odstock Dropped Foot Stimulator and the Walkaide have similar orthotic effects on the speed and energy cost of walking in people with MS. Further research is urgently needed to compare FES devices, recruiting treatment of naive participants for a fully powered RCT.
功能性电刺激（FES）是一种用于治疗足下垂的辅助装置，已被发现可提高多发性硬化症患者（pwMS）的步行速度和能量消耗。本研究旨在比较两种不同装置对步行的即时矫形效果；奥德斯托克垂足刺激器（ODFS）和步行辅助器（WA）。
招募了20名目前正在使用ODFS的pwMS患者（10名女性，10名男性，平均年龄50.4±7.3岁）。参与者在一个9.5米长的椭圆形跑道上以他们喜欢的步行速度行走5分钟；在测试当天，一次使用ODFS，一次使用WA，一次不使用FES。测量步速、距离和能量消耗。
与不使用FES相比，ODFS的步行速度有统计学意义的显著增加（p = 0.043），WA的步行速度接近显著增加（p = 0.06）。ODFS和WA在步行速度（p = 0.596）或能量消耗（p = 0.205）方面没有差异。
这是第一项比较两种不同FES装置对步行影响的初步研究。需要进一步招募更大规模的未使用过FES的参与者进行研究。康复意义 用于多发性硬化症（MS）足下垂的功能性电刺激（FES）可有效提高步行速度。奥德斯托克垂足刺激器和步行辅助器对MS患者的步行速度和能量消耗具有相似的矫形效果。迫切需要进一步研究比较FES装置，招募未使用过FES的参与者进行充分有力的随机对照试验。
