ABSTRACT

The Journal of Korean Society of Occupational Therapy Vol. 22, No. 2, 2014 33AbstractA Comparison of the Effect According to Type of Electromyography-triggeredNeuromuscular Electrical Stimulation on the Upper Limb Function andActivities of Daily Living in Stroke Patients: A Prospective, RandomizedControlled Pilot TrialPark, Ji-Su*, M.Sc., O.T., Choi, Jong-Bae**, M.Sc., O.T. *Dept. of Occupational Therapy, Inje University Busan Paik Medical Center**Dept. of Occupational Therapy, Kyung Hee University Medical CenterObjective : This study aimed at investigating the effect of two types of electromyography-triggered neuromuscularelectrical stimulation on the upper limb function of the affected side and activities of daily living in stroke patients. Methods : A randomized controlled study was conducted for 20 patients within 6 months of occurrence of a subacutestroke. The patients were divided into two groups as follows: those treated with electromyography-triggeredneuromuscular electrical stimulation (EMG-NMES), and those treated with mental imagery training combined withEMG-NMES (MIT EMG-NMES), for 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, for 4 weeks. For the assessment of upperlimb function, the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) and Wolf Motor Function Test (WMFT) were used, and for theassessment of daily living activities, the Modified Barthel Index (MBI) was used. Results : After four weeks of intervention, the MIT EMG-NMES-treated group showed statistically significantimprovement in the FMA and WMFT (p<.01), and improvement in the MBI, particularly in each of the self-carescores, with a statistical significance (p<.05). The EMG-NMES-treated group showed significant improvement inwrist movement on the FMA and in the upper limb function in the WMFT (p<.05). There was no statisticallysignificant improvement in the total MBI, except in the self-care score (p<.05). Conclusion : This study suggests that both the MIT EMG-NMES and EMG-NMES are beneficial in improving theupper limb function and activities of daily living in patients after an acute stroke.