{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,13]],"date-time":"2026-05-13T16:18:12Z","timestamp":1778689092168,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773100800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To compare the efficacy and safety of low, medium, and high-frequency functional electrical stimulation (FES) in post-stroke foot drop (FD), aiming to identify optimal frequency parameters for clinical practice.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      In this retrospective cohort study, 90 patients with post-stroke FD admitted between January 2021\u2013December 2023 were grouped based on received FES frequency: low-frequency (20\u201330\u202fHz,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f30), medium-frequency (31\u201340\u202fHz,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f30), and high-frequency (41\u201350\u202fHz,\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f30). All patients received conventional rehabilitation combined with FES. The primary efficacy outcome was the improvement in 10-meter maximum walking speed (10MWS). Secondary outcomes included Fugl-Meyer Assessment for Lower Extremity (FMA-LE) scores and Functional Ambulation Category (FAC), and ankle dorsiflexor muscle strength.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Baseline characteristics were comparable (all\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;gt;\u202f0.05). The medium-frequency group showed significantly greater improvement in 10MWS (0.246\u202f\u00b1\u202f0.095\u202fm\/s) versus low (0.154\u202f\u00b1\u202f0.063\u202fm\/s) and high-frequency groups (0.145\u202f\u00b1\u202f0.050\u202fm\/s) (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). FMA-LE improvement was also superior in the medium-frequency group (8.60\u202f\u00b1\u202f1.99 points;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). Ankle dorsi-flexor strength improvement was significantly greater in the medium-frequency group (1.93\u202f\u00b1\u202f0.25 grade) compared to both low (0.97\u202f\u00b1\u202f0.18 grade) and high-frequency groups (1.03\u202f\u00b1\u202f0.18 grade) (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001), with a favorable trend also observed in FAC. Adverse event incidence was low (3.3%) and similar across groups (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.355). Subgroup analysis indicated consistent medium-frequency efficacy across stroke types.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>In this retrospective comparative study, medium-frequency (31\u201340\u202fHz) FES was associated with optimal efficacy and safety outcomes for post-stroke FD, showing significantly greater improvement in walking speed and lower limb function without added risk. These findings suggest it as a promising parameter for clinical evaluation, though verification by prospective trials is warranted.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2026.1766337","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T05:30:20Z","timestamp":1773120620000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Efficacy of functional electrical stimulation at different frequencies for post-stroke foot drop: a retrospective cohort study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Bin","family":"Zhang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Hangzhou Ninth Hospital","place":["Hangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chen","family":"Fang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Hangzhou Ninth Hospital","place":["Hangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Youqing","family":"Su","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Rehabilitation, Hangzhou Ninth Hospital","place":["Hangzhou, China"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.3892\/ijmm.2021.5070","article-title":"Neuronal injuries in cerebral infarction and ischemic stroke: from mechanisms to treatment (review)","volume":"49","author":"Zhao","year":"2022","journal-title":"Int J Mol Med"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e076161","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj-2023-076161","article-title":"Advances in treatments for acute ischemic stroke","volume":"389","author":"Sharma","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMJ"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"132","DOI":"10.1177\/17474930241308142","article-title":"World stroke organization: global stroke fact sheet 2025","volume":"20","author":"Feigin","year":"2025","journal-title":"Int J Stroke"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2022","DOI":"10.1044\/2021_JSLHR-20-00347","article-title":"Stroke recurrence and its relationship with language abilities","volume":"64","author":"Goldberg","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Speech Lang Hear Res"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e007341","DOI":"10.1161\/JAHA.117.007341","article-title":"Bilateral transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation improves lower-limb motor function in subjects with chronic stroke: a randomized controlled trial","volume":"7","author":"Kwong","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Am Heart Assoc"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"108279","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2025.108279","article-title":"Effect of electrical stimulation in the treatment on patients with foot drop after stroke: a systematic review and network meta-analysis","volume":"34","author":"He","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1301","DOI":"10.1007\/s10072-022-06561-3","article-title":"Efficacy of functional electrical stimulation in rehabilitating patients with foot drop symptoms after stroke and its correlation with somatosensory evoked potentials-a crossover randomised controlled trial","volume":"44","author":"Mijic","year":"2023","journal-title":"Neurol Sci"},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5728","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20095728","article-title":"Gait training with functional electrical stimulation improves mobility in people post-stroke","volume":"20","author":"Dantas","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Environ Res Public Health"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"43","DOI":"10.1016\/j.physio.2020.08.002","article-title":"Ankle-foot orthoses and continuous functional electrical stimulation improve walking speed after stroke: a systematic review and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials","volume":"109","author":"Nascimento","year":"2020","journal-title":"Physiotherapy"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"101388","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rehab.2020.03.012","article-title":"Functional electrical stimulation of the peroneal nerve improves post-stroke gait speed when combined with physiotherapy. 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