Nahhas, O. orcid.org/0009-0000-6247-7347, Astill, S.L. orcid.org/0000-0002-9443-6934, Chakrabarty, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-4389-8290 et al. (2 more authors) (2025) Effectiveness of Electrical Stimulation on Upper Limb Function in Children and Young People with Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy: A Systematic Review. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 14 (19). 6718.
Abstract
Objectives: This review seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of electrical stimulation (ES) in improving upper limb function in children and young people (CYP) with hemiplegic cerebral palsy (HCP). Methods: A systematic literature search from inception until May 2025 was conducted. Various study designs comparing the effect of different ES techniques such as functional electrical stimulation (FES), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation (TSCS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) on upper limb function in CYP with HCP were included. Results: Eighteen studies were selected for review and quality assessment, comprising twelve randomised controlled trials (RCTs) and six non-RCTs. FES was shown to improve upper limb function, though more rigorous and controlled research is needed. Both TENS and NMES demonstrate potential to improve upper limb function, particularly when combined with other interventions. The analysis suggests that variability in reporting tDCS outcomes hinders assessment of its potential benefits for improving upper limb function. Conclusions: Current research suggests ES may support upper limb rehabilitation in CYP with HCP, though the overall evidence remains limited. Most studies are small, underpowered, and lack long-term follow-up, limiting confident conclusions. ES should therefore be applied cautiously and only as part of a comprehensive rehabilitation plan.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2025 by the authors. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | cerebral palsy; hemiplegic cerebral palsy; electrical stimulation; upper limb function; motor function |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Biological Sciences (Leeds) > School of Biomedical Sciences (Leeds) |
Date Deposited: | 06 Oct 2025 16:12 |
Last Modified: | 06 Oct 2025 16:12 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | MDPI |
Identification Number: | 10.3390/jcm14196718 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:232544 |