Effect of Electrical Stimulation and Active Muscle Contractions in Bell's Palsy

Introduction Bell's palsy is a temporary paralysis that causes facial weakness of one side of face. Bell's palsy occurs when the nerve that controls the facial muscles is swollen, inflamed, or compressed, resulting in facial weakness or paralysis. Objectives -To find out effectiveness of active muscle contraction in bell's palsy. To find effectiveness of electrical stimulation in bell's palsy. To compare effectiveness of active muscle contraction and electrical stimulation in bell's palsy. Methods - 30 subjects of early diagnosis, having Bell's palsy were recruited. They were allocated into 2 groups and treated with electrical stimulation, active muscle contraction.30contractions were given to each muscle in 3 sessions and 10 contractions were given to each facial nerve trunk. The intensity was increased until minimal visible contractions of the muscle are obtained. Post treatment progression was made after 5 weeks of intervention. The objective outcome measures House- Brackmann Scale (HBS) and Manual muscle testing (MMT) were used to assess the facial symmetry pre- treatment and at the end of 5 week. Result Both the groups showed improvement but there was significant improvement on HBS Scale in group treated with electrical stimulation and active muscle contractions are effective in management of Bell's palsy.