title: Functional Electrical Stimulation in Spinal Cord Injury: Clinical Evidence Versus Daily Practice.
abstract: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) has clinical evidence in the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injury as indicated by several studies. Both inpatients and outpatients benefit from the therapeutic effect of the FES. The application areas are multifaceted and can be customized on the need for patients. This is represented by the individuality of the programmability of the stimulators and the variety of stimulation schedules that are based on the knowledge about the effects of FES on structural and functional level. Nevertheless, looking into daily clinical practice, the use of FES is rather poor. Expenditure of time, complexity of technical equipment, and compliance and acceptance of therapists and patients should be taken into account as limiting factors.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil, Nottwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ines
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Bersch
authors.affiliation: Swiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil, Nottwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stefani
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tesini
authors.affiliation: Swiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil, Nottwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bersch
authors.affiliation: Swiss Paraplegic Centre Nottwil, Nottwil, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Frotzler
mesh_terms: D004599:Electric Stimulation Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000503:physiopathology; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Evidence; Functional electrical stimulation; Practice; Spinal cord injuries