Comparison of efficacy of Kabat rehabilitation and facial exercises along with nerve stimulation in patients with Bell's palsy

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to compare the role of Kabat rehabilitation and facial exercise techniques with nerve stimulation common in both for Bell's palsy treatment and its effectiveness in improving physical and social function. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized control trial conducted at the Department of Physiotherapy, Mayo Hospital, Lahore. Two equal Groups (A and B) consist of 26 patients each. Patients were employed Kabat rehabilitation technique in GroupA and with facial exercise in Group-B. Patients in both treatment groups were followed until 3 weeks and improvement in Sunnybrook facial grading scale (SFGS) and facial disability index (FDI) scale were recorded at the end of treatment. RESULTS: In this study, 52 patients were enrolled into the study. At the end of 3 weeks, more improvement was seen in SFGS in Group-A (81.58 + 11.321) versus Group-B (63.77 + 21.645). Similarly, the improvement in physical and social function on FDI in Group-A was more than Group-B (>0.05). CONCLUSION: Kabat technique is more effective as compared to facial exercise technique in improving physical and social function.

Keywords

• Bell's palsy
• electrical stimulation
• facial exercises
• Kabat rehabilitation