Jennifer Matthews: Tom Hensley loves being outdoors with his wife. But a stroke four years ago paralyzed his left arm. And shoulder pain kept him indoors.
Tom Hensley: I avoided doing most everything. I stayed inside a lot.
Jennifer Matthews: Favorite activities, like hunting and fishing ended, too.
Tom Hensley: The pain I had was very hard to cope with but at the time I really didn't see any options other than try to cope with it.
Jennifer Matthews: Then, Hensley met Stephen Page who is studying a new type of electrical stimulation for stroke patients like Hensley with shoulder pain and disability. The therapy works by sparking an electrical current in the muscles, giving patients strength to move.
Dr. Stephen Page: So they were able to extend their elbow more. They were able to move the wrist a little bit and this was due to the fact that there is less pain actually in the shoulder.
Jennifer Matthews: Electrical stimulation used to be delivered through patches on the shoulder. In this study, researchers are looking at wires implanted right into the shoulder muscles.
Dr. Stephen Page: We are actually doing electrical stimulation directly to the muscles, so we are going right to the source.
Jennifer Matthews: This video show how the muscles react when electrically stimulated.
Dr. Stephen Page: We have a little switch, and we can actually modify how much electrical stimulation is going into the shoulder.
Tom Hensley: For me it really, I got some relief from the pain then overtime I believe the electrical stimulation help to strengthen the muscles in my shoulder right no longer really needed to use it a whole lot.
Jennifer Matthews: Now Tom is spending more time outdoors doing what he loves. This is Jennifer Matthews reporting.
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