Taylor 2021.
| Methods | RCT |
| Participants | Setting: two hospitals in the UK. N = 64 Sample: recruited through Parkinson's Society and other local publicity (28% women) Age (years): Mean (SD) intervention group 69.3 (8.7), control group 71.3 (7.8) Inclusion criteria: ≥ 18 years; idiopathic PD; Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 to 4; bradykinesia demonstrated by slow gait over 10 metres at < 1.25 ms‐1; gait abnormality (e.g. reduced stride length); able to walk 10 metres independently with or without an aid; able to stand up from sitting independently; medically stable; able to understand and comply with assessment and intervention Exclusion criteria: treatments other than usual PD medications; uncontrolled epilepsy; pregnancy; active medical implanted devices; other neurological causes of 'dropped foot'; severe osteoarticular pathology; malignancy; dermatological problems in the area of electrode placement; significant cognitive impairment Disease severity at baseline: Hoehn and Yahr stage 1 to 4, mean (SD) 2.4 (0.8) |
| Interventions | FES 1. FES: FES to the common peroneal nerve of one leg, set up to correct any problems with dorsiflexion and eversion during walking. The device was worn daily when walking for 18 weeks. The intervention was in addition to standard care. 2. Control: standard care including medical care, specialist nurses and exercise classes. |
| Outcomes | 1. Rate of falls 2. Number of fallers 3. Quality of life Other outcomes reported but not included in this review |
| Notes | Falls data collected at 18 weeks and 22 weeks by falls diaries Number of falls during the intervention (0 to 18 weeks), median (IQR): FES 3.0 (10.8); control 2.0 (3.0) Number of falls during follow‐up (18 to 22 weeks), median (IQR): FES 0.0 (2.7); control 0.0 (1.3) Number of people who fell during the intervention (0 to 18 weeks): FES 14 (61%); control 17 (63%) Number of people who fell during follow‐up (18 to 22 weeks): FES 11 (42%); control 10 (42%) Funding source: National Institute for Health Research, Research for Patient Benefit funding stream. |
FES: functional electrical stimulation; IQR: interquartile range; PD: Parkinson's diease; RCT: randomised controlled trial; SD: standard deviation.