Abstract
Reduced propulsion of the paretic leg contributes to impaired walking in people poststroke. The goal of this study was to determine whether phasic electrical stimulation to the paretic gastrocnemius muscle combined with resistance applied to the nonparetic leg during swing phase while walking would enhance muscle activation of the paretic gastrocnemius and propulsive force of the paretic leg. Fifteen individuals who had a stroke visited the lab once to complete two experimental sessions (i.e., crossover design; session order randomized). Each session consisted of 1) treadmill walking with either "motor stimulation and swing resistance" or "swing resistance only" (10-min walking: 1-min baseline, 7-min adaptation to intervention, and 2-min postadaptation) and 2) instrumented treadmill walking before and after treadmill walking. Participants showed enhanced muscle activation of the paretic gastrocnemius (P = 0.03) and improved anteroposterior ground reaction force of the paretic leg (P = 0.01) immediately after the treadmill walking with "motor stimulation and swing resistance," whereas no improvements after the walking with "swing resistance only." Those enhanced gastrocnemius muscle activation (P = 0.02) and improved ground reaction force (P = 0.03) were retained until the late postadaptation period and 10 min after treadmill walking, respectively. Walking with "motor stimulation and swing resistance" may enhance forced use of the paretic leg and improve propulsive force of the paretic leg. Applying phasic electrical stimulation to the paretic gastrocnemius muscle and swing resistance to the nonparetic leg during walking can be used as a novel intervention strategy to improve motor control of the paretic leg and walking in people poststroke.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Applying targeted motor stimulation to the paretic calf muscle and swing resistance to the nonparetic leg during walking induced significant enhancement in muscle activation of the paretic gastrocnemius and anterior-posterior ground reaction force of the paretic leg, whereas no enhancements were observed after walking with swing resistance only. Furthermore, the enhanced gastrocnemius muscle activation and ground reaction force of the paretic leg were partially retained at the late postadaptation period and 10 min after treadmill walking.