Functional electrical stimulation as a promising intervention for polymyositis-related weakness: a case report

Background/aims Polymyositis is an inflammatory myopathy characterised by chronic and progressive muscle weakness. This case report discusses a 61-year-old African-American man with polymyositis. Even though pharmacological and physical therapy interventions had previously been prescribed, they had not been beneficial. This case report examined the effects of a functional electric stimulation-assisted exercise programme. Methods The patient was treated in an outpatient clinic two times a week and performed exercises three times a week on alternating days for 36 weeks. In the clinic, he received functional electrical stimulation-assisted strengthening to quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteus maximus while performing activities such as sit to stand, squats, bridging and cycling. For endurance training, he ambulated on the clinic track with a neuroprosthetic to assist with dorsiflexion in the swing phase of gait. At home, he performed lower extremity and core strengthening exercises. Measures to evaluate the intervention included the Manual Muscle Test, functional mobility (Timed Up and Go Test), balance (Berg Balance Scale, Activities of Balance Confidence Scale), endurance (Six-Minute Walk Test with a modified Borg scale) and gait speed (10-Metre Walk Test). Results After 36 weeks of treatment, the patient had made gains in strength in all muscle groups in his bilateral lower extremities except hip extensors. Timed Up and Go time decreased by 14.01 seconds. The patient changed from a medium fall risk to low fall risk on the Berg Balance Scale and his confidence increased by 46.2% on the Activities of Balance Confidence Scale. Furthermore, he gained endurance as exhibited by his increased distance of 289 feet on the Six-Minute Walk Test and his modified Borg score decreased from 4 out of 10 to 2 out of 10. The patient made subjective and objective gains in gait speed, increasing from 0.18 metres per second at his initial examination to 0.50 metres per second. Conclusions This case study demonstrates that functional electrical stimulation-assisted exercise, conducted in an outpatient setting, can improve strength and functional mobility in an individual with polymyositis without detrimental effects.