Functional electrical stimulation as a tool to restore motor control after spinal cord injury: translation to clinical practice.

Introduction: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a therapeutic tool that may augment motor recovery after spinal cord injury/disease (SCI). It involves applying an electrical current to muscles and/or peripheral nerves to facilitate functional movements, such as walking and reaching. Despite the potential therapeutic benefits of FES, and the considerable investment into its research and development, FES is not widely used in clinical practice.

Areas covered: In this narrative review, we examine this research-to-practice gap. PubMed and Google Scholar were searched using keywords related to the population, constructs and context of interest. We provide an orientation to SCI and summarize how FES may facilitate motor recovery. Using the Knowledge-to-Action Framework as a guide, we demonstrate how co-design and implementation strategies can be incorporated into FES device development and research to aid clinical translation in SCI rehabilitation. Based on prior literature, we provide recommendations for researchers and technology developers: 1) collaborate with implementation scientists, 2) adopt participatory methods, 3) use a knowledge translation framework as a guide, 4) thoroughly understand implementation barriers and facilitators, and 5) budget time for implementation.

Expert opinion: Greater focus on clinical implementation is needed in the FES research field to address the current research-to-practice gap.