EFFECTIVENESS OF FUNCTIONAL MUSCLE STIMULATION IN IMPROVING MOTOR CONTROL AROUND SHOULDER IN PATIENTS WITH HEMIPLEGIA

Background: The effect of electrical stimulation on motor outcomes around shoulder in acute hemiplegia is elusive. We tested the effect of stimulation of specific muscles around shoulder on motor outcome in shoulder in patient with hemiplegia. Methods: 32 first time hemiplegic patient of stroke origin were randomly allocated to control and experimental group. Experimental group received electrical stimulation apart from exercises given to both the groups for 2 weeks. Deltoid, infraspinatus and upper trapezius were stimulated, along with attempt to contract the muscles. Stroke Rehabilitation Assessment of Movement (STREAM) upper components and manual muscle testing were used for evaluation of outcome. Wilcoxon sign rank test and chi-square tests were used for statistics. Results: Experimental group demonstrated greater recovery compared to control group. In both groups trapezius muscle work showed improvement in large number of patients followed by deltoid. STREAM score changes were seen a more number of patients in experimental group than control group. Conclusion: Electrical stimulation can be considered as an adjunct to exercises around shoulder in early stroke rehabilitation