The journal of spinal cord medicine
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Case Reports Comparative Study
A comparison of FES with KAFO for providing ambulation and upright mobility in a child with a complete thoracic spinal cord injury.
This study compared functional and physiologic measures of ambulation and upright mobility with functional electrical stimulation (FES) versus knee-ankle-foot-orthoses (KAFO) in an 11-year-old boy with a T-10 level spinal cord injury. The child was a limited community ambulator with bilateral KAFO and loftstrand crutches. The FES system consisted of percutaneous intramuscular electrodes controlled by a portable stimulator and thumbswitch, an AFO for ankle and foot support, and loftstrand crutches. ⋯ Maximum ambulation distances were relatively equal while the subject's velocity was significantly faster with FES. Of note, the subject reported ceasing ambulation during maximum distance trials due to general fatigue when using FES and due to shoulder pain with KAFO ambulation. For this subject, FES provided a means of performing upright mobility tasks independently, comparable with that of KAFO, while providing a faster ambulation velocity and a potential means of cardiovascular training.