Department of Physiotherapy, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
Physiother Theory Pract. 2010 Apr 22;26(3):160-6. doi: 10.3109/09593980902886339.
ABSTRACT Limited evidence may support the application of electrical stimulation in the subacute and chronic stages of facial palsy, yet some physiotherapists in South Africa have been applying this modality in the acute stage in the absence of published evidence of clinical efficacy. This preliminary study's aim was to determine the safety and potential efficacy of applying electrical stimulation to the facial muscles during the early phase of Bells palsy. A pretest posttest control vs. experimental groups design composed of 16 patients with Bell's palsy of less than 30 days' duration. Adult patients with clinical diagnosis of Bell's palsy were systematically (every second patient) allocated to the control and experimental groups. Each group (n = 8) was pretested and posttested using the House-Brackmann index. Both groups were treated with heat, massage, exercises, and a home program. The experimental group also received electrical stimulation. The House-Brackmann Scale of the control group improved between 17% and 50% with a mean of 30%. The scores of the experimental group ranged between 17% and 75% with a mean of 37%. The difference between the groups was not statistically significant (two-tailed p = 0.36). Electrical stimulation as used in this study during the acute phase of Bell's palsy is safe but may not have added value over spontaneous recovery and multimodal physiotherapy. A larger sample size or longer stimulation time or both should be investigated.
摘要 有限的证据可能支持在面瘫的亚急性期和慢性期应用电刺激，但南非的一些物理治疗师在没有发表临床疗效证据的情况下，在急性期就开始应用这种方法。本初步研究旨在确定在贝尔面瘫的早期阶段对面部肌肉进行电刺激的安全性和潜在疗效。这是一项采用前后测试对照实验设计的研究，纳入了 16 名发病时间少于 30 天的贝尔面瘫患者。成年贝尔面瘫患者经临床诊断后，系统地（每两名患者中就有 1 名）被分配到对照组和实验组。每个组（n = 8）都在接受测试前和测试后采用 House-Brackmann 指数评估。两组均接受热疗、按摩、运动和家庭康复计划治疗。实验组还接受电刺激治疗。对照组的 House-Brackmann 量表评分提高了 17%至 50%，平均为 30%。实验组的评分在 17%至 75%之间，平均为 37%。两组之间的差异无统计学意义（双侧 p = 0.36）。本研究中在贝尔面瘫急性期使用的电刺激是安全的，但与自发恢复和多模式物理治疗相比，可能没有额外的价值。应该进一步研究更大的样本量或更长的刺激时间或两者兼用。
