What is a therapeutic effect of functional electrical stimulation?

• A. Muscle hypertrophy
• B. Increased reflex excitability
• C. Proprioceptive drift
• D. Muscle re-ed

Answer: (D)

Functional electrical stimulation aims to retrain how the nervous system activates muscles so purposeful, coordinated movement can be produced again. The best therapeutic effect is muscle re-education: by delivering timed electrical pulses, the muscles learn to activate in the correct sequence during functional tasks, reinforcing proper motor patterns and improving voluntary control. This motor relearning is enhanced by the sensory feedback from each contraction, supporting the return of functional movement. While some strengthening or size increase can occur with repeated use, the central goal in functional applications is re-educating movement patterns. Increased reflex excitability is not the primary aim and can hinder controlled movement, and proprioceptive drift relates to perceptual misperception rather than the functional motor training FES provides.