Kinematic and kinetic benefits of implantable peroneal nerve stimulation in people with post-stroke drop foot using an ankle-foot orthosis

BACKGROUND: Contralesional 'drop foot' after stroke is usually treated with an ankle-foot orthosis (AFO). However, AFOs may hamper ankle motion during stance. Peroneal functional electrical stimulation (FES) is an alternative treatment that provides active dorsiflexion and allows normal ankle motion. Despite this theoretical advantage of FES, the kinematic and kinetic differences between AFO and FES have been scarcely investigated