Ivy OW Man,
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) is frequently used to decrease swelling in the early period after ankle sprain. The purpose of this study was to evaluate its effectiveness in this treatment. The results showed no statistically significant differences among the groups for ankle-foot volume and self-assessed ankle function. The statistically significant differences for ankle girth may have been compromised due to the significantly different values among groups at baseline. Ankle girth measurements were shown to be statistically significant from session 1 to session 3 for the NMES group but not for the other 2 groups. The authors conclude that the results indicate that NMES, as designed and used in this study, is not effective in decreasing ankle-foot volume or increasing self-assessed ankle function in the early period after ankle sprain.
Physical Therapy, Vol. 87, No. 1, January 2007, pp. 53-65