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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Feb;99(8):e19152.
doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000019152.

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation and shortwave diathermy in unrecovered Bell palsy: A randomized controlled study

Nicola Marotta  1 , Andrea Demeco, Maria Teresa Inzitari, Maria Giovanna Caruso, Antonio Ammendolia
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Neuromuscular electrical stimulation and shortwave diathermy in unrecovered Bell palsy: A randomized controlled study

Nicola Marotta et al. Medicine (Baltimore). 2020 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Unrecovered Bell palsy is difficult to treat, because until now in literature there is not a gold standard. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) and shortwave diathermy (SWD) therapy for chronic Bell palsy.

Methods: After 5 months of conventional therapy, this 2-arm randomized controlled trial enrolled and randomly allocated 20 patients to a treatment group with NMES+SWD and supervised exercises (n = 10) or a sham group with supervised exercise alone (n = 10). The administration of NMES or sham NMES, as intervention, was performed 30 min/session, 5 sessions/wk, for 4 weeks. The primary outcome was assessed by Sunnybrook scale. The secondary outcomes were evaluated by the Kinovea©, a movement analysis software. All primary and secondary outcomes were measured at baseline (T0), at the end of 4-week treatment (T1).

Results: At the end of 4-week treatment, the patients in the treatment group did not achieve better outcomes in resting symmetry, but we observed an increase of the perceived a significant improvement (P < .05) for symmetry of voluntary movements by the Sunnybrook subscale, with a score of 55.4 ± 9 compared to 46.4 ± 3.7 to control group and an increase in zygomatic muscle movement symmetry ratio (P < .05) by Kinovea©. No adverse events occurred in either group.

Conclusion: The improvements in the symmetry of voluntary movements demonstrated that combining diathermy with neuromuscular electrostimulation is valid and reliable in the treatment of chronic Bell palsy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no funding and conflicts of interest to disclose.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Bipolar handpiece.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Before (A, B) and after treatment (C, D) using Kinovea© software.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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