Physical therapy evidence based practice articles - Research Paper Example

Moreover, the patients were expected to have no pre-existing conditions limiting mobility or contra-indications or balance to TENS. Furthermore, the participants were selected from local community stroke factions and volunteers from the research groups database. Additionally, the participants were expected to be able to give an explicit consent and travel to the study facilities for the necessary testing. The intervention involved a single session of "active TENS" given through a "sock electrode" (frequency between 70-30Hz over a 5s cycle) as well as a course of control treatment (participants wearing the sock electrode lacking stimulation), lasting about two hours in total.

There was blinding where all the patients acted as their own control while the randomization followed the order in which the control or TENS was issued thus all participants receiving both stimulation and control conditions. The outcomes reported were obtained from plantar flexor and dorsiflexor strength and proprioception employing an Isokinetic Dynamometer, balance, gait speed and falls risk. The analysis was an exploratory trial to determine the effects of "activeTENS." The study provided initial evidence of the possibility of "activeTENS" to benefit physical function following stroke that merits further second phase trials to improve the intervention.

All the patients tolerated "activeTENS" and most of the parameters, advanced throughout stimulation with activeTENS; gait speed (p = 0.002), balance (p = 0.009), proprioception of plantar flexion (p = 0.029) and plantar flexor strength (p = 0.008), except dorsiflexion proprioception (p = 0.078) and dorsiflexor strength (p = 0.194). There was no threat to validity or reliability as the only complaint of leg pain after treatment was resolved the following day. Moreover, the concerns that "activeTENS" could have