Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) for Upper Extremity Recovery in Stroke

Not Applicable

Completed

Conditions: Hemiparesis
Stroke, Acute
Stroke

Interventions: Device: NMES device with EMG-triggered and Cyclic capabilities

Registration Number: NCT00142792

Lead Sponsor: MetroHealth Medical Center

Brief Summary: Stroke is the leading cause of activity limitation among older adults in the United States. NeuroMuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) can assist stroke survivors in regaining motor ability and decreasing activity limitation caused by stroke. This study will research the effects of two types of NMES on reducing motor impairment and activity limitation.

Detailed Description: Stroke is the leading cause of activity limitation among older adults in the United States. NeuroMuscular Electrical Stimulation (NMES) can be used by stroke survivors who do not have enough residual movement to take part in volitional active repetitive movement therapy and does not require expensive equipment or skilled personnel. Two types of NMES are available. The first is cyclic NMES, which electrically activates paretic muscles at a set duty cycle for a preset time period. (This study will employ both "traditional" cyclic stimulation and "sensory-only" stimulation, in which intensity is set at a level to be felt by the patient but insufficient to cause muscle contraction.)In cyclic NMES, the patient is a passive participant and does not assist the NMES by volitionally contracting the muscle during stimulation. The second type encompasses various forms of NMES in combination with biofeedback. For example, in "EMG-triggered" NMES, subjects are "rewarded" with stimulation in response to successful attempts to reach a pre-set level of EMG activity in the affected muscle. There is increased cognitive input and involvement on the part of the patient. The purpose of this study is to first demonstrate the effectiveness of these two types of surface stimulation on decreasing motor impairment and activity limitation; the study also seeks to assess the effect of adding cognitive input to NMES to reduce motor impairment and activity limitation.

Study subjects will be acute stroke survivors. They will participate for a total of eight months, beginning within the first six months after their stroke. Subjects will be randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups and will receive stimulation accordingly: 1) Cyclic stimulation; 2)Sensory-only stimulation; and 3)EMG-triggered stimulation. Members of each treatment group will be given an appropriate NMES device to use for two 40-minute treatment sessions per day, five times per week for eight weeks; for a total of 80 treatment sessions. Stimulation will be applied to ECR and EDC (wrist and finger extensors) on the affected arm. A treatment therapist will visit the patient at home on a weekly basis to monitor subject compliance and to provide feedback on device usage. The primary outcome measure will be the upper extremity portion of the Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FMA), a measure of motor impairment. The modified Arm Motor Ability Test (mAMAT) is a hemiparetic arm-specific measure of activity limitation, and will serve as a secondary outcome measure.

In addition to the baseline visit on day of enrollment, subjects will complete these outcome measurements at the clinic on five other occasions: at mid-treatment (week 5); end of treatment (week 9); and for follow-up visits at one-, three- and six-months post-treatment.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: COMPLETED

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 122

Inclusion Criteria

Age 21-89
Evidence of clinical symptoms from a hemorrhagic or nonhemorrhagic stroke with all symptoms from previous stroke(s) completely resolved
Medically stable
Less than 6 months post-stroke
Intact skin on the hemiparetic side
Able to follow 3-stage commands
Able to recall 2/3 objects after 30 minutes
Full passive ROM at the wrist and the thumb, index and long finger MCP joints on the affected side
Presence of a detectable, volitionally-activated EMG signal from the paretic wrist or finger extensors (ECR or EDC)
Affected wrist extensors ≤ 4 on MRC scale
Score of ≤ 11/14 on Section C (hand) of UE portion of Fugl Meyer Assessment (FMA)
Ability to tolerate NMES to the ECR and EDC for full wrist and finger extension
Caregiver available to assist with the device every day (unless subject capable of using it independently

Exclusion Criteria

History of ventricular arrythmias or any other arrythmias (i.e. fast atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, or supraventricular tachycardia) with hemodynamic instability
History of other upper motor neuron lesion
Absent sensation of the affected limb
Pregnancy
History of more than one seizure per month during the last year (or, since the stroke if no seizures prior to stroke)
Discharge to a skilled nursing facility or long-term care facility (EXCEPTION: Subjects may be d/c'd to the 6A SNF unit at MetroHealth Medical Center)
Uncompensated hemineglect
Implanted stimulator (such as a pacemaker)
Evidence of hand pain as defined by current metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint pain upon palpation and/or wrist or MCP pain upon extension

Study & Design

Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL

Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
B. Sensory stim	NMES device with EMG-triggered and Cyclic capabilities	Sensory-only electrical stimulation. The stimulation will be cyclic in nature but intensity will be set to a level that can be felt by the patient but not sufficient to cause muscle contraction. Uses NMES device with EMG-triggered and Cyclic capabilities
A. Cyclic stim	NMES device with EMG-triggered and Cyclic capabilities	* Preprogrammed cycles of finger and thumb flexor and extensor stimulation (and flexor stimulation if deemed necessary by the PI) repeatedly and automatically close and open the hand without any effort or voluntary intent required by the subject. * Subject instructed to relax, not attempt to assist the stimulation, and not to move the contralateral arm/hand during stimulation * Uses NMES device with EMG-triggered and Cyclic capabilities
C. EMG-Triggered	NMES device with EMG-triggered and Cyclic capabilities	EMG-Triggered electrical stimulation. Subjects in this group will attempt to extend their affected wrist and fingers in response to an audio cue. They will be "rewarded" with stimulation to cause full hand opening once they have generated EMG sufficient to reach a preset threshold level. Uses NMES device with EMG-triggered and Cyclic capabilities

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FMA) - Motor Impairment Measure	FMA will be administered on 6 occasions: at baseline, mid-treatment, end of treatment, and follow-up at 1-,3- and 6-months post-treatment.	The FMA battery measures six dimensions of post-stroke impairment including upper and lower limb motor impairment, range of motion, pain, reflexes, and sensation. , "Each item (33 total) is graded on a 3-point ordinal scale (0, cannot perform; 1, perform partially; and 2, perform fully) and summed to provide a score ranging from 0 to 66, where higher scores indicate better motor function The FMA was administered with the participant seated.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Arm Motor Ability Test (AMAT) - Hemiparetic Arm-specific Measure of Activity Limitation	AMAT will be administered on 6 occasions as above: at baseline, mid-treatment, end of treatment, and follow-up at 1-,3- and 6-months post-treatment.	The AMAT assesses upper limb specific tasks and does not allow for compensation. The AMAT consists of 13 compound ADL tasks composed of 1 to 3 component tasks, with a total of 28 component tasks. Each task was rated on the functional ability ordinal scale from 0-5 and an average is calculated, so the final score remains 0-5, with higher scores indicating lesser activity limitation. Total range of reported data is between 0 and 5 because the average is reported. 0 refers to no function. 5 refers to normal function.

Trial Locations

Locations (3): Edwin Shaw Rehab - Akron General Medical Center
🇺🇸
Akron, Ohio, United States
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
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Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
MetroHealth Medical Center
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Cleveland, Ohio, United States