Background: The foot drop stimulator is designed to improve the walking ability of foot drop in patients after stroke, however, studies on clinical effects are still lacking.
Objective: To investigate the effect of a foot drop stimulator on the walking and balancing abilities of foot drop patients after a stroke.
Design: One-Group (Pretest-Posttest) Design.
Methods: All subjects walked in all three conditions: foot drop stimulator (FDS) ankle foot orthosis (AFO) and barefoot. Primary outcome measures were assessed for walking and balance using a 10-m walking test (10MWT) and a timed up and go test (TUG). Secondary outcome measures consisted of a brief user interview, and the patients recorded the advantages and disadvantages of each condition.
Results: FDS, AFO, and barefoot conditions showed a statistically significant difference in 10MWT and TUG (P<.001) as a result of comparing three conditions. FDS and AFO were significantly different from the barefoot condition as post-hoc results; however, there was no significant difference between the two conditions (P>.05).
Conclusion: In this study, the foot drop stimulator contributed to improving the balance ability, and the walking ability was similar to the effect of the anklefoot orthosis.

INTRODUCTION
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
    Subjects
    Experimental Procedures
    Outcome measures
    Data and Statistical Analysis
RESULTS
    General characteristics of the patient
    Effect of three conditions on walking ability
    Effects of the three conditions on balance ability
    Usability / preference evaluation through interview
DISCUSSION
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES

• Jaeyoung Park(Department of Physical Therapy, Kyungwoon University)
• Dooho Lee(Department of Occupational Therapy, Gyeongbuk College of Health)
• Donghwan Oh(Department of Occupational Therapy, Kyungdong University) Correspondence