The effect of mirror therapy integrating functional electrical stimulation on the gait of stroke patients.
[Purpose] The aim of the present study was to examine whether mirror therapy in conjunction with FES in stroke patients can improve gait ability. [Subjects] This study was conducted with 30 subjects who were diagnosed with hemiparesis due to stroke. [Methods] Experimental group I contained 10 subjects who received mirror therapy in conjunction with functional electrical stimulation, experimental group II contained 10 subjects who received mirror therapy, and the control group contained 10 subjects who received a sham therapy. A gait analysis was performed using a three-dimensional motion capture system, which was a real-time tracking device that delivers data in an infrared mode via reflective markers using six cameras. [Results] The results showed a significant difference in gait velocity between groups after the experiment, and post hoc analysis revealed significant differences between experimental group I and the control group and between experimental group II and the control group, respectively. There were also significant differences in step length and stride length between the groups after the experiment, and post hoc analysis revealed significant differences between experimental group I and control group. [Conclusion] The present study showed that mirror therapy in conjunction with FES is more effective for improving gait ability than mirror therapy alone.
Department of Physical Therapy, Eulji University Hospital, Republic of Korea.
Sang-Goo
SG
Ji
Department of Physical Therapy, Eulji University Hospital, Republic of Korea.
Hyun-Gyu
HG
Cha
Department of Physical Therapy, Youngsan University, Republic of Korea.
Myoung-Kwon
MK
Kim
Department of Physical Therapy, Korea Nazarene University, Republic of Korea.
Chang-Ryeol
CR
Lee
Functional electrical stimulation; Gait analysis; Mirror therapy