Specialist Services

Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES)

What is Functional Electrical Stimulation?

It is using small electrical impulses to activate paralysed muscles and so produce useful movement. The electrical impulses work by exciting the nerves leading to the muscles. Self-adhesive patches (electrodes) are placed on the skin close to the nerve supplying the muscle. Leads connect the electrodes to a stimulator that produces the impulses.

Who may benefit from using FES?

People who have difficulty moving due to damage to their brain or spinal cord such as from a stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, head injury or have had an incomplete spinal cord injury (T12 or above).

How is this achieved?

The most common problem treated by FES is called dropped foot. This is a weakness of the muscles that lift the foot causing an inability to lift the foot during walking. Stimulation is given to the muscles at the front of the leg.

The simplest stimulator is the Odstock Dropped Foot Stimulator (ODFS). It activates muscles that lift the foot during walking via a switch worn in the shoe which triggers the stimulation. The stimulator is about the size of a pack of cards and can be worn at the waist on the belt or in a pocket.