A Major Step in the Forward Treatment of Foot Drop WalkAide is an advanced medical device that may provide immediate and dramatic improvement in the gait of certain people with foot drop. If your foot drop is the result of stroke, incomplete spinal cord or traumatic brain injury, If you or a loved one has been living with foot drop, you already know it can cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis, WalkAide could be right for you. make the simplest of tasks — like walking to the kitchen or climbing stairs — a challenge. Activities that most people take for granted require so much effort you’d rather not even attempt them. This limits your freedom of movement, impacts your quality of life, and can even result in depression. Are you ready to see if WalkAide can change your life? No matter how long you’ve been struggling with foot drop, you may be a good candidate for WalkAide, especially if WalkAide has helped thousands of people living with foot drop your foot drop is due to stroke, incomplete spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy or multiple sclerosis. regain their freedom of movement… WalkAide uses patented sensor technology to analyze the movement of your leg. The system sends electrical signals to your peroneal nerve, which controls movement in your ankle and foot. These gentle electrical impulses activate the muscles to raise your foot at the appropriate time during each step. The resulting movement is a smoother, more natural and safer walking motion. …regain their independence. Next Steps: …regain their lives. 1 Learn More. We encourage you to watch the enclosed DVD to learn more about WalkAide. You can also go to the WalkAide web site at www.walkaide.com. How does WalkAide work? Using WalkAnalyst software, your clinician evaluates your gait pattern and creates a customized walking program just for you, sending it to your device via Bluetooth® connection. This custom program sends signals to the peroneal nerve to 2 Talk to Your Doctor. Only a doctor can prescribe WalkAide. To see if WalkAide can help you regain your freedom of movement, make an appointment with your physician. 3 Schedule a Evaluation. You can also contact one of the five Patient Care Centers closest to you. (See list on the enclosed letter.) raise the foot at the appropriate time during walking. WalkAide is surprisingly small, powered by a single AA battery, and quite easy to operate and maintain. The non-invasive device is worn directly over the skin — not implanted underneath the skin — which means no surgery is involved. A cuff holds the system comfortably in place and it can be worn discreetly under most clothing. Because WalkAide requires no heel sensor, you can wear almost any type of footwear and possibly even go barefoot. Don’t wait another day to get YOUR life back. “From the very beginning, I really liked the WalkAide… I liked the References 1. F ield-Fote EC (2001). Combined use of Body Weight Support, Functional Electrical Stimulation, and treadmill training to improve walking ability in individuals with chronic incomplete spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 82: 818-824. 9. D aly JJ, Roenigk K, Holcomb J, Rogers JM, Butler K, Gansen J, McCabe J, Fredrickson E, Marsolais EB, Ruff RL (2006). A Randomized Controlled Trial of Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation in Chronic Stroke Subjects. Stroke 37:172-178. 2. S tein RB, Chong SL, Everaert DG, Rolf R, Thompson AK, Whittaker M, Robertson J, Fung J, Preuss R, Momose K, Ihashi K (2006). A muliticenter trial of a footdrop stimulator controlled by a tilt sensor. Neurorehabil Neural Repair 20(3):371-379. 10. Daly JJ and Ruff RL (2007). Construction of efficacious gait and upper limb functional interventions based on brain plasticity evidence and model-based measures for stroke patients. Scientific World Journal, 7: 2031-2045. 3. K im CM, Eng JJ, Whittaker MW (2004) Effects of a simple functional electrical system and/or hinged Ankle-Foot Orthosis on walking in persons with incomplete spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 5:1718-1723. 11. B erlanger M, Stein RB, Wheeler GD, Gordon T, Leduc B (2000). Electrical stimulation: Can it increase muscle strength and reverse osteopenia in spinal cord injured individuals? Arch Phys Med Rehabil 81:1090-1098. 4. K ottink AI, Hermens HJ, Nene AV, Tenningo MJ, van der Aa HE, Buschman HP, Izerman MJ (2007). A randomized controlled trial of an implantable 2-channel peroneal nerve stimulator on walking speed and activity in poststroke hemiplegia. Arch Phys Med Rehab, 88(8): 971-978. 12. Boncompagni S, Kern H, Rossini K, Hofer C, Mayr W, Carraro U, Protasi F (2007). Structural differentiation of skeletal muscle fibers in the absence of innervation in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science USA, 104(49): 19339-19344. 13. Stein RB, Everaert D, Chong SL, Thompson AK (2007). Using FES for foot drop strengthens Cortioc-Spinal Connections. 12th Conference of the International FES Society. 5. N g MF, Tong RK, Li LS (2008). A pilot study of randomized clinical controlled trial of gait training in subacute stroke patients with partial body-weight support electromagnetic gait trainer and functional electrical stimulation: a six month follow-up. Stroke, 39(1): 154-160. 14. Yan T, Hui-Chan C, Li L (2005). Functional Electrical Stimulation Improves Motor Recovery of the Lower Extremity and Walking Ability of Subjects With First Acute Stroke: A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial. Stroke 36:80-85 6. W ieler M, Stein RB, Ladouceur M, Whittaker M, Smith AW, Naaman S, Barbeau H, Bugaresti J, Aimone E (1999). Multicenter evaluation of electrical stimulation systems for walking. Arch Phys Med Rehab, 80:495-500. 15. Ring H, Rosenthal N (2005). Controlled study of neuroprosthetic functional electrical stimulation in sub-acute post-stroke rehabilitation. J Rehabil Med 37(1):32-36. 7. L indquist A, Prado, Barros RML, Mattioli R, Lobo da Costa PH, , Salvini TF (2007). Gait training combining Partial Body- Weight Support, a treadmill, and functional electrical stimulation: Effects on poststroke Gait. Physical Therapy, 87(9); 1-11. 16. Mirbagheri MM, Ladouceur M, Barbeau H, Kearney RE (2002). The effects of long term FES-assisted walking on intrinsic and reflex dynamic stiffness in spastic spinal-cord-injured subjects. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng, 10(4):280-9. 8. F ield-Fote EC, Lindley SD, Sherman AL (2005). Locomotor training approaches for individuals with Spinal Cord Injury: A preliminary report of walking-related outcomes. Journal of Neurological Phys Ther, 29(3): 127-137. 17. Thompson AK, Stein RB (2004). Short-term effects of functional electrical stimulation on motor-evoked potentials in ankle flexor muscles and extensor muscles. Exp Brain Res 159:491-500. If you’re ready to dramatically improve the quality of YOUR life, read on to learn more about WalkAide. whole idea that I wasn’t going to have wires coming up from the heel of my shoes… From Day Two, I never even knew I had the thing on!” —Judi J., RN, Ph.D. Stroke Survivor, Minneapolis, MN Important Scientific Benefits of WalkAide WalkAide is considered a “neuroprosthesis” — a device How else does WalkAide benefit me? WalkAide also includes a programmable exercise mode that allows you to strengthen your muscles for a set period of time while resting (as prescribed by your doctor). As you improve, your clinician can download an activity report that replaces or improves function that has been lost due that shows your progress between sessions. Using this information, your WalkAide can be reprogrammed to take into to an impaired nervous system. It uses Functional Electrical account your increased function due to regular use of your muscles. Stimulation (FES), or gentle electrical impulses, to activate the peroneal nerve in the leg, causing the foot to lift. Regain your strength and independence. Employing FES in rehabilitation has shown several important benefits, including: Increase your ability to interact with loved ones. •Improvement in gait, including increased gait speed 1-6 • Increased gait quality 6-8 • Increased coordination and balance 9-10 With WalkAide you will enjoy: •Increased muscle strength and force of voluntary contraction 11-12 • Decreased energy cost of gait • Decreased spasticity •Easy one-handed application and operation •Improved walking speed and quality with less fatigue 2,13 • Reduced strain on other parts of your body 14-17 •The wearing of almost any type of shoe, or no shoes (upon approval of your healthcare provider) FES and Neuroplasticity: An Exciting Scientific Finding Recent evidence has shown that using FES can promote. positive changes in the function of the brain, called neuroplasticity, resulting in overall functional improvement. Several studies of FES-enabled devices have shown an increase in Motor Evoked Potential (MEP) •Recovered use of your own muscles (with a WalkAide exercise program created by your medical team) •Minimal contact with your skin for greater comfort and reduced perspiration •Reduced atrophy and potential improvements in circulation, muscle condition, and bone density •Improved voluntary control, increased joint range of motion, and cardiovascular health — the measure of the strength of the connection between an area in the brain and the muscle it drives — and an extension of cortical activation after FES treatment. 2,13,17 In other words, the evidence is strong that FES technology not only improves functional outcomes, but in fact facilitates true healing and central nervous system recovery. “I had a family wedding where I saw relatives I had not seen since before the stroke. I wore a dress, Did You Know? which I never would have done with the old brace. I was very comfortable and very confident that I could walk and keep my balance. It was an outdoor wedding and I had no trouble walking in the grass.” —Maggie F., Boston, MA Traumatic Brain Injury Foot drop is often caused by damage to the brain or spinal cord that creates a disruption to the peroneal nerve function, resulting in weakness or paralysis of the muscles involved in lifting the front part of the foot.