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Overview: Clinical evaluation of the Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) device
The annual meeting of RIMS (Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis) took place in Barcelona, Spain, May 10-12. It was co-hosted by the Guttmann Institute, a rehabilitation hospital in Barcelona. There were a variety of European and International speakers covering interesting topics such as juvenile MS and exercise in MS. Our MS Research and Resources Unit presentation, given by Research Physiotherapist Angela Davies Smith was based on research work carried out by the Unit. The title of the talk was “Overview: Clinical evaluation of the Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) device”. Other interesting presentations given during this Mobility Session of the conference were on subjects such as the use of cooling, vibration therapy and body weight support systems.
Functional Electrical Stimulation is a method that can be used to help footdrop in MS bylifting the foot during the swing phase of gait to avoid the toes catching on the floor leading to possible falls. Electrical signals are applied artificially to the appropriate weak muscle and this causes the foot to lift and this counteracts the weakness. This is just one possible application of FES in MS. The Bristol MS Research and Resources Unit has carried out previous studies on this subject and the presentation gave an overview of the technique, identified specific studies and looked at how we can best measure the effect of such an application stressing the importance of developing an evidence base in order to justify funding. FES for footdrop is well established in stroke but whilst it appears effective in MS there is little published evidence. One possible reason for this is choice of outcome measures i.e. how we measure change, and suggestions were made on this subject.
Overall the conference was well organised and in addition to interesting and stimulating discussions and presentations it gave a valuable opportunity to share ideas and plan future collaborations with other researchers.
