Efficacy of electrotherapy in Bell’s palsy treatment: A systematic review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Up to now there is not enough evidence that supports the use of electrotherapy in the treatment of Bell’s palsy. OBJECTIVE: Through a systematic review, we aimed to verify whether the use of electrotherapy is effective for treating Bell’s palsy or peripheral paralysis. METHODS: Publications were searched in PubMed, EBSCO and Web of Science. The present systematic review included studies that analyzed the electrotherapy as a therapeutic method for treating individuals with Bell’s palsy, in order to recover the function of facial muscles. RESULTS: Seven studies involving a total of 131 cases and 113 controls were included in this systematic review. In the studies analyzed, patients received electrotherapy combined with other treatments such as hot-wet facial napkins, massages and muscle reeducation. Although the effect of electrotherapy alone was not evaluated, the use of electrotherapy combined with other treatments produced a significant improvement in the individuals evaluated. CONCLUSIONS: Due to the diverse methodologies used and the small number of individuals included in the studies, we could not fully prove the efficacy of electrotherapy for treating Bell’s Palsy. Future studies with larger samples and homogenous populations should be performed to obtain conclusive results.

Physiotherapy management of Bell’s palsy - A review of evidenced based physiotherapy practice

“…Our review has shown that an electrotherapy program can have a positive effect on BP symptoms. Burelo-Peregrino et al [19] agree with our findings as they concluded that electrotherapy helps improve symptoms in both acute and chronic BP. However, it is not clear what parameters (intensity, pulse duration, duration of treatment, Number of sessions) should be applied in order to obtain the best possible results.…”

A bibliometric analysis of research on the treatment of facial nerve palsy

“…[5,6,[26][27][28] In the "complementary and alternative treatment" category, terms such as "acupuncture," "rehabilitation," "electroacupuncture," "physical therapy," and "low level laser therapy" were included. [29][30][31][32] Moreover, this category showed a tendency towards more recent studies, just as with "medication treatment". In other words, the research areas on the treatment of facial nerve palsy that are presently being focused on were "medication treatment" and "complementary and alternative treatment," indicating the probable direction of future research.…”

Therapie der idiopathischen Fazialisparese („Bell’s palsy“)

“…In dieser Studie war aber die Fallzahl mit insgesamt 87 Patienten gering [ 79 ]. In einer jüngst vorgelegten Metaanalyse zur Wirksamkeit der Elektrotherapie wurde kein Effekt für die Elektrotherapie allein nachgewiesen [ 10 ].…”