RESTORATION OF GAIT BY COMBINED TREADMILL TRAINING AND MULTICHANNEL ELECTRICAL-STIMULATION IN NON-AMBULATORY HEMIPARETIC PATIENTS

Functional electrical stimulation and treadmill training with partial body weight support through suspension by a parachute harness were com bined for gait restoration in 11 chronic non-ambulatory hemiparetic pa tients, Individually adjusted multichannel stimulation of the trunk an d of upper and lower limb muscles, as well as a motor driven treadmill , induced functional gait within 3 to 6 weeks, The improvement of gait ability was assessed by the Functional Ambulation Category test, Othe r motor functions were rated by the Rivermead Motor Store, The leg mus cle strength, stride length, cadence, gait velocity and gait pattern w ere recorded, In seven of the patients, we did a single case research A-B-A study that showed that this combined approach had advantages, in regard to gait restoration and walking velocity (p < 0.05) as compare d with our common physiotherapeutic programme.