Peroneal nerve stimulator in rehabilitation of hemiplegic patients.

Of nine hemiplegic patients having foot-drop who were test-treated with the Philips functional electronic peroneal stimulator, only three who tolerated continued use of the stimulator for five weeks had improvement in function. Findings in these cases indicate that to be selected for trial use of a stimulator a hemiplegic patient should fulfill the following criteria: (1) be in the hospital, (2) be ambulant with or without a cane and/or short leg brace, (3) have no severe contracture of the ankle joint, (4) have no severe spasticity, (5) have no obvious lower motor neuron lesions, (6) be cooperative and intelligent, (7) have no severe manual difficulty (he should be able to put on the stimulator without assistance), and (8) be able to tolerate the discomfort from the stimulation.