Examining the outcomes of electrical stimulation with home-based exercise versus electrical stimulation with proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation in individuals diagnosed with Bell’s palsy: A comparative study

Abstract

Background: Although several studies have been done but there are only few studies on the data of the bells palsy's treatment with electrical stimulation with home-based exercise versus electrical stimulation with proprioceptive neuro muscular facilitation (rhythmic initiation, repeated stretch) technique in bell’s palsy patients were not studied in details.Aim: To know the effects of electrical stimulation with home-based exercise versus electrical stimulation with proprioceptive neuro- muscular facilitation (rhythmic initiation, repeated stretch) technique in bell’s palsy patients.Design: A Comparative study.Setting: This study took place from September 12, 2021 to June 09, 2022 at the OPD of neurology department and department of physiotherapy in Pacific Hospital, Udaipur, Rajasthan, IndiaPopulation: 30 male & female age group from 20-50 years old subjects diagnosed with Bell’s palsy and facial palsy.Methods: The severity of facial palsy and Bell’s palsy was classified as normal, mild dysfunction, moderate dysfunction, moderately severe, severe dysfunction and total paralysis defined according to the House-Brackmann Scale and Sunnybrook facial grading scale.Results: The results did not yield statistically significant differences between the two groups; they provided valuable insights into the demographic patterns within each group. The distribution of Group A and Group B, according to age, sex, reflexes, functional disability impairment, sunnybrook facial grading scale, house Brackmann scale and communication, the chi-square value with p value of 1.000, indicating no statistically significant difference between the two groups.Conclusion: This study highlights the distribution of cases based on various factors in Group A and Group B. The analysis explored age groups, sex, reflexes, functional dental impairment, subjective biting-related habits, headache disability, communication, and socializing. Overall, the distributions of cases were similar between the two groups, with non-significant results observed in most comparisons.