Comparison of laser therapy and galvanic stimulation on facial appearance and function in Bell’s palsy among south Indian population

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Introduction and Aim: Bell’s palsy is an instantaneous lower motor neurons injury of 7th cranial nerve associated with infection and swelling. It produces unexpected unilateral weakness of facial muscles, progresses rapidly and attains peak symptoms within a week. The most common age of incidence is between 20 to 40 years. Although facial paralysis in Bell’s palsy is self-limited, only 80% of the patients make a full recovery. There are studies stating that both galvanic electrical stimulation and laser therapy speed up the recovery of facial paralysis, but the extent of complete recovery is unknown. Hence, this study is an attempt to understand and compare how laser therapy and galvanic electrical stimulation affect facial appearance and facial muscle functions in Bell's palsy. Materials and Methods: This study included thirty subjects with acute onset of Bell’s palsy aged between 20-40 years. They were randomly grouped into A and B. Galvanic electrical stimulation and low-level laser therapy were given to group A and group B respectively for 6 weeks (3 sessions/week) along with facial exercises. Facial disability index scale was used to measure facial muscle function and Sunny brook scale was used to measure facial symmetry in pre- and post-treatment periods. Results: When comparing the pre- and post-mean values of groups A and B on the Sunny Brook facial grading and the facial disability index (physical, social), group B (with low level laser therapy) showed a highly significant difference in mean values at p 0.001. Conclusion: Low-level laser therapy can be used as an adjective in treating the patients with Bell’s palsy.