FES

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gpduffy

Member
Joined
Oct 25, 2020
Messages
10
Reason
Loved one DX
Diagnosis
10/2020
Country
UK
State
NI
City
Belfast
FES

Hello - has anyone with drop foot experienced any success with FES, electrical stimulation devices?

Thank you
 
haven't tried it for my drop foot but was very effective after surgery on my shoulder. makes sense, generally but would think your neurologist should be consulted.
 
If you are asking would FES help stop ALS progression - no, not in the least.
 
Thanks for the advice. I’ve contacted the neurophysio and there’s a chance it may work.

I understand it won’t stop progression but could it improve walking and stability. Currently a leg brace is used. Nerve conduction test results aren’t great and there is very little movement in the toes.
 
I would think that if electrical stimulation worked where neurons have died, then this would have been a protocol for all of us.
 
Electricity can't stimulate dead neurons. Muscles do compensate as much as they can for the loss of other muscles, as when abdominal muscles pick up some of the work of breathing. When there are no longer enough muscles to support a given movement, it's lost.

FES has been used to jump start regrowing fiber due to inactivity or a severed connection between the spine and the muscle, but in ALS the problem is the death of the motor neurons that control many muscles, not selective paralysis of a single muscle, as you might see in something like MS, where some patients have seen improvement with FES.

Also, spasticity and contractures are contraindications, because you are basically "making the frog leg jump," to be crude. The diaphragm pacer, which turned out to have negative effects for enough PALS that it no longer receives widespread use in ALS, is another example. Think about trying to charge a damaged battery.
 
truly, if FES worked for ALS we would be shouting it from the rooftops
 
Wish it were an option to help drop foot. I also have that problem. Have any of you used Vital Stim Therapy for swallowing? Did it help?
 
FES

"Seen as easier to wear and more convenient than an AFO by many users, they are also a great deal more expensive — about $5,000-$6,000 — and typically not covered by insurance."

Besides, Laurie (Igelb) pretty much clarified the situation concerning PALS above.

I guess about the same for...

"VitalStim Therapy is a non-invasive therapy that uses an electrical current to stimulate the muscles responsible for swallowing."
 
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Before I got diagnosed with ALS, I tried to stimulate the muscles involved in drop foot. That is precisely where my symptoms started. On one side only at first. As others have said, and in my experience, it did absolutely nothing. Was kind of like trying to strengthen muscles all the while they are loosing the connection to their power supply. I guess in theory it is a way to possibly keep the muscles stimulated and perhaps a little bit stronger. Unfortunately it won't do any good when the connection between the brain and muscles is relentlessly under attack. I often wondered if I could have tolerated regular ab stimulation if I could have kept enough muscle tone to avoid my horrendous quad gut!😁
 
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