Glossary
Basic concepts FES, TENS and EMS
In this section, we give you an overview of the most relevant terms used in the fields of Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) and Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS).
| Term | Explanation |
| Abduction | Lateral path (foot tilts → laterally) – opposing movement → adduction. Movement of the leg or foot away from the body. |
| Adduction | Lateral approach (foot tilts towards the → midline) – opposing movement → abduction. Movement of the leg or foot towards the centre of the body. |
| Basal ganglia | A group of nuclei situated in the grey matter at the base of the forebrain (telencephalon) and top of the midbrain (diencephalon), under the cerebral cortex. |
| Dorsiflexion | Describes the “upward” contraction/movement of the foot at the ankle joint towards the back of the foot (i.e. the upper surface of the foot when standing). |
| EMS | Electrical Muscle Stimulation: Low frequent electrical impulses stimulate the nerves, which causes muscle contractions. |
| Eversion | Combination of movement consisting of → abduction, → dorsiflexion and → pronation. The foot tilts → laterally. |
| Fibular nerve | → Peroneal nerve lat. Nervus fibularis Synonym of popliteal nerve |
| Head of the fibula | lat. Caput fibulae The head of the fibula or calf bone is a palpable bony crest and forms the end of the fibula (lat. Fibula). It is where tendons and ligaments are attached and at the same time represents the head of a joint. The peroneal nerve → runs directly below the head of the fibula |
| Functional electrical stimulation | Nerves are stimulated through the skin with electrical impulses to induce muscle contraction. |
| Weak foot dorsiflexion | Describes a restriction in the movement of the foot: The foot can no longer be lifted and is dragged over the floor when walking. This is associated with an extremely high risk of tripping and falling. It is often caused by → peroneal nerve paresis. |
| Innervation | Innervation describes the functional supply of a body part or tissue structure with nerve cells and nerve fibres. Innervation allows the control of bodily processes and movements through the exertion and perception of stimuli. |
| Inversion | Inversion |
| Sciatic nerve | lat. Nervus ischiadicus Sciatic nerve |
| Lateral | To the side of the body, away from the midline |
| Medial | Oriented towards the midline (centre) of the body |
| Musculus biceps femoris | A double-headed thigh muscle, whose long head forms part of the hamstring muscle group |
| Musculus tibialis anterior | Dorsiflexion muscle, anterior tibialis muscle |
| Nervus fibularis | Fibular nerve |
| Nervus peroneus profundus | Deep peroneal nerve |
| Nervus peroneus superficialis | Superficial peroneal nerve |
| Nervus peroneus | Peroneal nerve |
| Nervus tibularis | Tibial nerve |
| Patella | Knee cap; thin, convex bone, which has a triangular shape in front view and is located in front of the joint |
| Peroneal nerv paralysis | Synonym of → peroneal nerve paresis, → weak foot dorsiflexion |
| Nervus tibularis | → Fibularisnerv lat. Nervus peroneus Nervus tibularis |
| Peroneal nerve paralysis | A lesion of the peroneal nerve that may result in → weak foot dorsiflexion. This means that the dorsiflexion motor command can no longer be transmitted to the musculature: The foot can no longer be lifted and this results in the toes being dragged along the floor when walking. |
| Plantar flexion | "Downwards" contraction/movement of the foot towards the sole |
| Pronation | Rotation of the foot about its longitudinal axis, in which the outer edge of the foot is lifted and the inner edge is lowered. |
| Tibial nerve | lat. Nervus tibularis The tibial nerve is a branch of the sciatic nerve. It runs along the back of the leg and → innervates parts of the muscles of the thigh, lower leg and foot as well as skin areas of the calf, heel and sole. |
| Supination | "Bent back" position of the foot; lifting of the inner edge of the foot with simultaneous lowering of the outer or lifting of the medial edge. |
| TENS | Transcutaneous Electrical Nerval Stimulation: Via electrodes placed on the skin nerval structures are stimulated, which reduces patieten's pain perception |
| Tibia | Shin/shin bone; second longest bone in the human body |
| Head of the calf bone | Head of the fibula |
| Peroneal nerve | Synonym of → Peroneal nerve, → Fibular nerve |
