llowing a stroke, individuals are
often left with sensorimotor impair
ments, such as paresis and abnormal
muscle tone, which significantly limit
their ability to mobilize and participate in
activities of daily living. Physical rehabil
itation aims to resolve these impair
ments, enabling recovery of movement
and function. One intervention that is
recommended for stroke rehabilitation
by numerous best practice guidelines is
functional electrical stimulation (FES).1-3
Functional electrical stimulation can pro
duce appropriately sequenced and timed
muscle contractions for functional tasks.
This stimulation is accomplished by
delivering a low-level, electrical current
through electrodes on the skin to acti
vate motoneurons, causing muscle con
traction. Functional electrical stimula
tion has been used in individuals with
stroke to improve strength,4 upper
extremity function,5 and gait6 and to pre
vent hemiplegic shoulder subluxation.7
Moreover, FES therapy is associated with
neuroplasticity poststroke8-10 and thus
can contribute to neural recovery