Overview
People living with stroke have a high risk of falling and this risk increases as mobility improves over the first year post-stroke. Despite the high number of falls, there is a lack of interventions to prevent falls after stroke. One possible solution is to alter nerve activity through delivery of a stimulus, such as electrical stimulation. The purpose of this study is to describe and compare clinical, biomechanical and nerve-related outcomes between individuals with stroke who receive RBT with tSCS and those who receive RBT with sham tSCS.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- Aged 18 years or greater
- Diagnosed with a middle cerebral artery stroke \>1 year ago
- Community-dwelling (i.e. not living in long-term care or other inpatient setting)
- Able to stand independently for 60 seconds
- Able to understand spoken English
Exclusion Criteria:
- Any condition other than stroke that significantly affects their postural control (e.g. vestibular disorder, vision loss)
- A prior lower extremity fragility fracture
- A planned injection of botulinum toxin to the legs during the intervention period
- Peripheral nerve damage in the legs
- Contraindications for electrical stimulation (i.e. implanted electronic device, active cancer or radiation in past six months, uncontrolled epilepsy, skin rash/wound at an electrode site, pregnancy, active deep vein thrombosis)
- Contraindications for TMS (i.e. seizures, metal in the head)
- Previous participation in tSCS within the past 2 years (May affect blinding integrity. Likely uncommon; FES is rarely used in Canada post-stroke.)
