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. 2018 Feb 2:5:2055668318755071.
doi: 10.1177/2055668318755071. eCollection 2018 Jan-Dec.

A comparison of the initial orthotic effects of functional electrical stimulation and ankle-foot orthoses on the speed and oxygen cost of gait in multiple sclerosis

Linda Miller Renfrew  1   2 , Anna C Lord  1 , Angus K McFadyen  3 , Danny Rafferty  2 , Rebecca Hunter  1 , Roy Bowers  4 , Paul Mattison  1 , Owen Moseley  5 , Lorna Paul  2
Affiliations

A comparison of the initial orthotic effects of functional electrical stimulation and ankle-foot orthoses on the speed and oxygen cost of gait in multiple sclerosis

Linda Miller Renfrew et al. J Rehabil Assist Technol Eng. .

Abstract

Background: Foot drop affects walking in people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS). This study compares the initial orthotic effects of two treatments for foot drop: ankle-foot orthoses (AFO) and functional electrical stimulation (FES), on the speed and oxygen cost of walking in MS.

Method and materials: Seventy-eight pwMS were randomised to receive AFO or FES (ODFS PACE (OML, Salisbury, UK)). Participants completed the 25-ft walk test (25ftWT) and 5-min self-selected walk test (5minSSWT), from which oxygen cost was determined, with and without their device. Between-, within- and sub-group analyses (based on baseline walking speed of <0.8 m/s (slow) or ≥0.8 m/s (fast)) were undertaken.

Results: No significant differences between baseline measures were observed. The AFO group walked significantly slower than the FES group (5minSSWT, p = 0.037, 0.11 m/s). The AFO group walked significantly slower with than without AFO (25ftWT, p = 0.037), particularly in the fast-walking group ( p = 0.011). The slow-walking FES group walked significantly faster with FES than without (25ftWT; p = 0.029, 5minSSWT; p = 0.037). There were no differences in the fast-walking FES group or in the oxygen cost for either device.

Conclusion: AFO reduced walking speed, particularly in fast walkers. FES increased walking speed in slow, but not fast walkers.

Keywords: Ankle-foot orthosis; electrical stimulation; neurorehabilitation; orthotics; walking velocity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Consort diagram. AFO: ankle foot orthoses; FES: functional electrical stimulation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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