Electrical stimulation enhances reinnervation after nerve injury

Abstract

Electrical muscle stimulation following peripheral nerve injury has been a controversial method of treatment due primarily to the inconsistent literature surrounding it. In this presentation transcript I outline ongoing experiments investigating a clinically translatable daily muscle stimulation paradigm in rats following nerve injury. Results show that reinnervation of muscle and functional behavioural metrics are enhanced with daily stimulation with upregulation of intramuscular neurotrophic factors as a potential mechanism. In addition, the impact of stimulation on terminal sprouting, a mentioned negative aspect of electrical muscle stimulation, was a minor contributor to long term functional reinnervation of stimulated muscles in our studies.