Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on tibialis anterior in children with cerebral palsy

The aim of this work was to investigate the efficacy of using neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) applied on tibialis anterior in ambulant children with cerebral palsy (CP). The present work was designed as a controlled longitudinal study to compare the effect of treatment with or without NMES applied to 20 ambulant children with diplegic and hemiplegic CP. The stimulation group received NMES on tibialis anterior 30-minutes a day, 6 days a week for a period of 12 weeks. The control group received conventional treatment. Preand post-treatment evaluation included manual muscle strength testing, active and passive ankle range of motion, Ashworth scale, gait analysis, Gross Motor Function Measure and Goals Attainment Study in accord with parents. Results showed a general improvement in the clinical items and gait analysis without a statistical significance. Subjectively all patients and parents thought that the treatment improve the quality of gait. This study determined that NMES could have positive clinical effects on gait of some children with CP. Further works are needed to identify more sensible clinical instruments to evaluate the efficacy of NMES treatment.