Background: Shoulder subluxation is a significant problem in poststroke patients, resulting in pain and loss of function. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of FES(functional electrical stimulation) on the shoulder subluxation in poststroke hemiplegic patients with case-control study.
Methods: A prospective, randomized controlled study was carried out to determine the effect of functional electrical stimulation on shoulder subluxation after stroke. Forty patients were selected and randomly assigned to a control and FES
group. In FES group, FES on supraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscle was applied for 4 weeks. The severity of shoulder subluxation was determined by the radiologic evaluation before treatment and 4 weeks later.
Results: The vertical disparity of shoulder subluxation was significantly reduced in FES group compared to the control group(p<0.05). However, the horizontal disparity was not changed. The arm function was significantly improved in both groups, but we didn’t find any difference between the two groups.
Conclusions: The functional electrical stimulation therapy may be considered to be a supplementary in the shoulder subluxation of poststroke hemiplegic patients.