Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on ankle swelling in the early pe

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Phys Ther. 2007 Jan;87(1):53-65.

Effect of neuromuscular electrical stimulation on ankle swelling in

the early period after ankle sprain.

Man IO, sey MC, Cywinski JK.

School of Health Sciences and Social Care, Brunel University,

Uxbridge, Middlesex, United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE:/ST> Neuromuscular electrical stimulation

(NMES) is frequently used to decrease swelling in the early period

after ankle sprain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate its

effectiveness in this treatment.

SUBJECTS:/ST> Thirty-four subjects (11 female, 23 male; mean

age=30.2 years) who were recovering from ankle sprain participated.

METHODS:/ST> Outcome measures were ankle-foot volume, ankle girth,

and self-assessed ankle function. Three testing raining sessions

occurred within 5 days of injury. Subjects were randomly assigned to

1 of 3 groups: a group that received NMES treatment, a group that

received submotor ES treatment (designed to act as a control group),

and a group that received sham treatment.

RESULTS: /ST> There were no statistically significant differences

among the groups for ankle-foot volume and self-assessed ankle

function. The statistically significant differences for ankle girth

may have been compromised due to the significantly different values

among groups at baseline. Ankle girth measurements were shown to be

statistically significant from session 1 to session 3 for the NMES

group but not for the other 2 groups.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION:/ST> The results indicate that NMES, as

designed and used in this study, is not effective in decreasing

ankle-foot volume or increasing self-assessed ankle function in the

early period after ankle sprain.