There is no standard course of treatment or cure for Bell's Palsy in the current literature, moreover the effectiveness of intervention for the facial paralysis following Bell's Palsy is debatable. Conservative treatments include acupuncture, exercises, and electrical-stimulation. However, the research is inconsistent in demonstrating the effectiveness of these interventions. The conflicting results suggest a need for a randomized controlled trial that would rigorously test the electrical stimulation protocol in patients with Bell's palsy.
10 patients within the age range of 20 to 40 years both male and female diagnosed with Bell's palsy were recruited from the hospitals of Delhi and NCR and were divided into two groups i.e.; group A who received electrical stimulation on nerve trunk and group B who received electrical stimulation on facial muscles.
The comparison between group A and group B shows that group B has shown significant changes (p value <0.05) on House - Brackmann scale for eyelid closure and on VAS (p value <0.01) for pain sensation. However it was noticed that there is no significant change in group A as well as in group B when electrical stimulation was applied for taste sensation on anterior 2/3rd of tongue.
Electrical stimulation improves the facial paralysis caused by Bell's palsy.
Bell's Palsy, Facial Paralysis, Electrical Stimulation
