FES for Foot Drop and Weakness: Shropshire Physiotherapy
Published · 7 min read
Mobile Physiotherapist — Shropshire
FES stands for functional electrical stimulation. It uses small electrical pulses to make a weak muscle contract at the right moment during a movement — most commonly to lift the foot as you walk, when foot drop is causing the toes to catch.
How FES works
A small device delivers pulses through electrodes on the skin over the nerve supplying the target muscle. For foot drop, that usually means stimulating the common peroneal nerve to lift the front of the foot during the swing phase of your step, timed by a sensor so it fires at the right point in the gait cycle.
The immediate effect is a more reliable toe clearance and, for many people, a smoother and safer walking pattern. There is also interest in the longer-term effect — that repeated, correctly-timed practice may help retrain the movement itself — though how much of that carries over varies a great deal between individuals.
Who it may suit
FES for foot drop is most often considered where weakness follows an upper motor neurone problem — after a stroke, with multiple sclerosis, after a brain or incomplete spinal cord injury. It depends on the nerve below the level of the problem still being able to carry a signal to the muscle, which is why it is not suitable for every cause of foot drop.
Where foot drop is caused by direct damage to the peripheral nerve or to the muscle itself, FES may not produce a usable contraction. This is why assessment matters before buying anything: the same symptom can have very different underlying causes, and they do not all respond the same way.
FES or a splint?
This is the question most people actually arrive with, and the honest answer is that it depends, and that they are not mutually exclusive.
- An AFO or foot-drop splint is mechanical. It holds the foot in position, works regardless of whether the nerve responds, needs no batteries or setup, and is generally cheaper. For many people it is the practical everyday answer.
- FES is active. It produces a real muscle contraction rather than holding the foot passively, which some people find gives a more natural walking pattern, and it involves the muscle rather than resting it. It costs more, needs setting up and charging, and requires a responsive nerve.
Plenty of people use a splint day to day and FES within rehabilitation sessions, or use a splint while trialling FES. If you are weighing up the mechanical options, the foot drop support guides cover splints, AFOs and braces in detail, including how AFOs compare with braces.
FES is part of rehabilitation, not a replacement for it
A device that lifts your foot does not, by itself, address why the foot is not lifting. Alongside FES, rehabilitation typically involves targeted exercises, strength and control work, balance retraining and walking practice. FES is most useful as one component of that, which is also why it is worth being assessed by a physiotherapist rather than ordering a device and hoping.
Being assessed in Shropshire
FES is not currently offered by our Shropshire physiotherapist. Wherever you are assessed for it, the assessment should look at the cause of the weakness, whether the nerve responds, how you are walking now, and whether FES, a splint, exercise-based rehabilitation or a combination is the sensible route.
The clinic covers large parts of Shropshire including Shrewsbury, Telford, Oswestry and Ludlow, with home visits and clinic appointments both available.
Starting with a phone call
Contact the office to talk through what is causing the weakness and what has been tried, and we will help you find the right route to an assessment.
Get in touch: contact the office.
Please mention Mobile Physiotherapist.co.uk when you get in touch.
About Mobile Physiotherapist
Mobile Physiotherapist provides HCPC and CSP registered home visit physiotherapy across Shrewsbury, Telford and wider Shropshire. The treatment described in this article is not currently offered by our Shropshire physiotherapist; contact the office and we will be happy to help you find the right service.