REVIEW article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Neurology
Sensory-Level Electrical Stimulation in Children with Cerebral Palsy: A Scoping Review of Current Applications and Outcomes
Provisionally accepted
- 1University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- 2Graduate School for Health Sciences, Universitat Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- 3Devision of Neuropediatrics, Inselspital Universitatsspital Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- 4Department of Physiotherapy, Inselspital Universitatsspital Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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Introduction: This scoping review aims to map the existing literature on sensory-level electrical stimulation (ES) interventions for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Methods: MEDLINE, Embase and PEDro were searched. Among 504 screened articles, 18 studies were included. ES forms utilized included transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), therapeutic electrical stimulation (TheES), threshold electrical stimulation (ThrES), Mesh-Glove Stimulation, and the Mollii suit. The reviewed ES modalities were used in upper extremities, lower extremities, and whole-body treatments. Results: Some significant improvements were noted in motor control, spasticity, strength, and functional abilities. Discussion: While the findings suggest that sensory-level ES holds promise for enhancing motor function in children with CP with significant improvements shown in the relevant outcome measures in fourteen of eighteen papers, the existing literature is characterized by significant variability in stimulation parameters, study design, sample sizes, patient characteristics and outcome measures hindering the ability to generalize findings. Further research with larger, more homogeneous samples and standardized protocols are essential to validate these interventions and establish effective treatment guidelines.
Keywords: Cerebral Palsy, Electrical Stimulation, sensory afferent electrical stimulation, Spasticity, Neuromodulation
Received: 10 Jun 2025; Accepted: 07 Nov 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 de Araujo, Gschaidmeier, Von Gunten and Grunt. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Céline de Araujo, celine.n.araujo@gmail.com
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