An interdisciplinary concept for the treatment of Bell’s palsy – a case report

Abstract

Background. Bell’s palsy is a spontaneous paralysis of the facial nerve (i.e. cranial nerve VII). It presents with muscle weakness leading to facial asymmetry, with a drooping corner of the mouth, loss of the ability to whistle, blink, close the eyelid, purse lips or grin. The forehead on the affected side becomes smooth and the patient is not able to frown or raise eyebrows. Objective. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of combined electrophysical and physiotherapeutic methods on accelerating recovery from facial nerve palsy. Material and Methods. The authors describe two cases of Bell’s palsy, treated with simulta-neous application of electrophysical agents, in the form of an extremely low-frequency elec-tromagnetic field (ELF-EMF) and high-energy LED light, and physiotherapy modalities, i.e. proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation (PNF) and kinesiotaping (KT). Results. After four weeks of electrophysical and physiotherapeutic treatments, a fully satis-factory and stable therapeutic effect was achieved. Conclusions. The interdisciplinary therapy using ELF-EMF + LED combined with PNF and KT treatments proved to be effective in accelerating recovery from facial nerve palsy. Further studies are needed to establish appropriate protocols.