Electrical stimulation and Bell's palsy

Abstract

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether electrical stimulation had any advantages over facial exercises in promoting recovery after Bell's palsy. Altogether 270 papers were found using the reported search, of which one presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date, and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results, and study weaknesses of this best paper are tabulated. A clinical bottom line is stated. Clinical scenarioA 50 year old presents with Bell's palsy. You have heard that physiotherapy is an effective treatment but wonder whether facial exercises produce a better outcome than treatment with electrical stimulation.

Does electrical stimulation improve motor recovery in patients with idiopathic facial (Bell) palsy?

“…We identified 15 articles [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] to consider further in answering our clinical question. Abstracts and articles were reviewed to determine the relevance of their content.…”