Foot Drop rehabilitation

[Petr75]

2020 Nov 28
College of Information Technology, United Arab Emirates University , Al Ain, UAE
Trends and Technologies in Rehabilitation of Foot Drop: A Systematic Review
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33249938/

Abstract

Introduction: Foot Drop (FD) is a condition, which is very commonly found in post-stoke patients, however it can also be seen in patients with multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy. It is a sign of neuromuscular damage caused by the weakness of the muscles. There are various approaches of FD's rehabilitation, such as physiotherapy, surgery, and the use of technological devices. Recently, researchers have worked on developing various technologies to enhance assisting and rehabilitation of FD.

Areas covered: This review analyzes different types of technologies available for the rehabilitation of FD. This include devices that are available commercially, as well as, the proposed studies. 101 studies published between 2015 and 2020 were identified for the review, many were excluded due to various reasons, e.g., they were not robot-based devices, did not include foot drop as one of the targeted diseases, or was insufficient information. 24 studies that met our inclusion criteria, were assessed. These studies were further classified into two different categories: robot-based ankle-foot orthosis (RAFO) and Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) devices.

Expert opinion: Studies included showed that both RAFO and FES showed considerable improvement in the gait cycle of the patients. Future trends are inclining towards FES and muscle synergies for further developments.
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