Abstract

The purpose of the study was to assess the effects of a novel technique involving facial stretching of the unaffected side along with a structured exercise for the affected side on facial symmetry and facial functions as compared to conventional exercise. A hospital-based parallel-group randomized trial was completed among patients with acute Bell’s palsy in Mangalore, India. Participants were randomized to receive facial stretching and a structured exercise program (experimental group) or the conventional exercise regimen (conventional group). Primary outcomes were facial symmetry and voluntary movement; assessed by the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System (SFGS). Both regimens were given for 3 weeks, with baseline, 10th day, and 20th day assessments. Out of 31 participants screened, 24 were eligible and 12 participants each were assigned to experimental and conventional groups. Change scores revealed greater improvement in the SFGS score (p = 0.002) for the experimental group participants. Facial stretching and structured exercise program exhibited promising results in enhancing facial symmetry and function in acute Bell’s palsy when compared to conventional exercise regimen.

Details

Title
Effectiveness of novel facial stretching with structured exercise versus conventional exercise for Bell’s palsy: a single-blinded randomized clinical trial
Author
Santiago, Stephanie 1 ; Joshua, Abraham M. 1 ; Nayak, Akshatha 1 ; Misri, Zulkifli 2 ; Pai, Shivananda 2 ; Pai, Rohit 2 ; Mithra, Prasanna 3 ; Prabhakar, Ashish John 1 ; Palaniswamy, Vijayakumar 1 

 Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Department of Physiotherapy, Manipal, India (GRID:grid.411639.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0571 5193) 
 Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Department of Neurology, Manipal, India (GRID:grid.411639.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0571 5193) 
 Kasturba Medical College, Mangalore, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Department of Community Medicine, Manipal, India (GRID:grid.411639.8) (ISNI:0000 0001 0571 5193) 
Pages
13266
Publication year
2024
Publication date
2024
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
3066164430
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2024. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.