Functional electrical stimulation after spinal cord injury: current use, therapeutic effects and future directions

Repair of the injured spinal cord by regeneration therapy remains an elusive goal. In contrast, progress in medical care and rehabilitation has resulted in improved health and function of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). In the absence of a cure, raising the level of achievable function in mob...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Spinal cord 2008-04, Vol.46 (4), p.255-274
Main Author: Ragnarsson, K T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomy
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cerebrospinal fluid. Meninges. Spinal cord
Electric Stimulation Therapy - instrumentation
Electric Stimulation Therapy - trends
Electrodes, Implanted
Equipment Design
Human Physiology
Humans
Injuries of the nervous system and the skull. Diseases due to physical agents
Medical sciences
Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes)
Neurochemistry
Neurology
Neuropsychology
Neurosciences
Paresis - etiology
Paresis - therapy
sir-ludwig-guttmann-memorial-lecture
Spinal Cord Injuries - complications
Spinal Cord Injuries - therapy
Traumas. Diseases due to physical agents
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Repair of the injured spinal cord by regeneration therapy remains an elusive goal. In contrast, progress in medical care and rehabilitation has resulted in improved health and function of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). In the absence of a cure, raising the level of achievable function in mobility and self-care will first and foremost depend on creative use of the rapidly advancing technology that has been so widely applied in our society. Building on achievements in microelectronics, microprocessing and neuroscience, rehabilitation medicine scientists have succeeded in developing functional electrical stimulation (FES) systems that enable certain individuals with SCI to use their paralyzed hands, arms, trunk, legs and diaphragm for functional purposes and gain a degree of control over bladder and bowel evacuation. This review presents an overview of the progress made, describes the current challenges and suggests ways to improve further FES systems and make these more widely available.
ISSN:1362-4393
1476-5624
DOI:10.1038/sj.sc.3102091