Elec Stim. Fact or Fiction

[m&mmom]

We have been using TES on Matthew since he's been 16 months old.

Cindy

[katep]

Just a response to Guest:

The odds of there EVER being an INDEPENDENT, double-blind study on e-stim for kids are just about zero, at least in the US. It is incredibly difficult to get FDA approval for any studies on children, and so there probably won't ever be any good data for kids. Even with adults, usually only the manufacturers have the motivation to get approval and do any studies. But since it is a medical device, the study design and data have to be pretty good to get approval from the FDA. I wouldn't discount studies from the manufacturers of medical devices completely (having worked in the medical device field myself in a previous life...)

Kate

[LisaL]

We see Dr. Nelson on a regular basis and she does recommend e-stim and nmes on children under 2 years old. She recommended it for us when Hannah was 18 months. I know of a few children 6 months old that she has recommended it for also.

Lisa

[BarbH]

Thanks for all your responses. I'm going to do more reasearch on this.

We are not using any devices at night, just during therapy last Monday. I'm sorry, I don't know the names for the different electrical stimulation but I am going to find out more.

She didn't give much of a fight. She just looked at it when it went on and told me in one word "STUCK!" She's so cute.

[admin]

We have used the estim on my daughter since she was 1 month of age. She has not a any problems tolerating it and have had nothing less than great results from it. Our therapist is very vigilant in training us on the proper placement of the pads, the levels to set it at, and the tasks she should be performing when wearing it. When she was an infant it was set very low and only gave a slight tapping sensation to stimulate the muscles. As she got older the settings were changed to a much higher level and we were given tasks for her to do while wearing it, much like someone else mentioned. She is now almost 2 years old and doing great. She has been scheduled twice for surgery and both times it has been cancelled at the last minute due to her progress. We have had no contractures, no atrophy and now her winging is also decreasing. The doctors and therapist both feel that her using the estim has been and is instrumental in her recovery. We are now doing botox and the estim and so far so good.
Ellen

[BarbH]

Thanks Lisa, she's doing well but she's about the same as when we saw you. We are in the process of reschduling her Mod Quad.

When they did use the elec. stim on her we saw her open her hand...she even was able to push a shopping cart and pick up balls and place them in. It was like a whole new arm!

[Karen w]

We have been using NMES on our daughter Grace since she was around 10 months old. We only used it at first with our therapist once a week. When she was 20 months we were able to get our own NMES machine through our therapist and we now use it at home about 3 times a week. Grace is now 27 months old. We were told that we could do it every day--however, I find it difficult to schedule it that often in our daily routine. Our therapist trained me on the correct positions to use for the electrodes. At about 18 months we also began using a TES machine every night with her. We have been lucky that she has always tolerated these e-stims very well. She will let me know though, if I have turned it up too high! She also calls the TES her "tickle machine". We feel that her arm movements are much more fluid and natural due to her e-stims. We are pleased with her progress so we will continue to use these with her. WE had been cautioned about use of the NMES --you don't want to turn it up too high or use it for too long on a young baby, especially if the muscle is atrophied--you don't want to exhaust the muscle. I think gradual buildup is the key.