Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of functional electrical stimulation (FES) on rehabilitation outcomes of upper extremity in patients with hemiplegia due to cerebrovascular accident.
 

Materials and Method: A total of 60 hemiplegic patients attending the inpatient rehabilitation program were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into two groups- study and control. Age, gender, etiology of hemiplegia, duration of hemiplegia and hemiplegic side of all patients were recorded. All patients were put on a rehabilitation program consisting of conventional methods, while the study group additionally received FES treatment to the  supraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscles on the hemiplegic side. Upper-extremity and hand motor functions and spasticity of the upper extremity  were evaluated before and after treatment using the Brunnstrom stages and the Ashworth scale, respectively and the pre- and post-treatment values were compared. The passive joint range of motion (PROM) and active joint range of motion (AROM) of shoulder flexion and abduction were measured with the visual analog scale before and after treatment and all datas were compared. 
 

Results: There was no statistically significant difference in terms of age, gender, etiology of hemiplegia, duration of hemiplegia and hemiplegic side between the two groups. No statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups when comparing the pre- and post-treatment upper extremity and hand Brunnstrom recovery scores and  the changes in the upper extremity Ashworth scores  before and after treatment. There was no significant difference between the two groups for the PROM and AROM of shoulder flexion and shoulder abduction before and after treatment. 
 

Conclusion: Applying FES to the supraspinatus and posterior deltoid muscles of the hemiplegic side in addition to conventional methods when treating the motor level, spasticity, range of motion of upper extremity in patients who develop hemiplegia following cerebrovascular accident is more beneficial than conventional treatment alone.