The dynamic performance model of skeletal muscle

: Applications of electrical stimulation to the nerve or muscles associated with a defunct limb joint due to stroke or spinal cord injury are a viable means of restoring a certain level of functional movement to the patient. In this article, the currently acceptable physiology of motor control is outlined and used as a criterion for electrophysiological and biomechanical performance evaluation of contemporary electrical stimulation strategies used by various systems attempting to duplicate such motor control in an effort to restore meaningful limb function. Strategies associated with surface, nerve, intramuscular, and reflex stimulation are critically reviewed with special reference to voluntary sensory motor control of a limb joint rather than an isolated muscle.