TY - JOUR T1 - Effectiveness of novel facial stretching with structured exercise versus conventional exercise for Bell's palsy: a single-blinded randomized clinical trial. AU - Santiago,Stephanie, AU - Joshua,Abraham M, AU - Nayak,Akshatha, AU - Misri,Zulkifli, AU - Pai,Shivananda, AU - Pai,Rohit, AU - Mithra,Prasanna, AU - Prabhakar,Ashish John, AU - Palaniswamy,Vijayakumar, Y1 - 2024/06/10/ PY - 2023/05/31/received PY - 2024/06/04/accepted PY - 2024/6/11/medline PY - 2024/6/11/pubmed PY - 2024/6/10/entrez KW - Bell’s palsy KW - Disability KW - Facial exercises KW - Facial symmetry KW - Rehabilitation KW - Therapy SP - 13266 EP - 13266 JF - Scientific reports JO - Sci Rep VL - 14 IS - 1 N2 - The purpose of the study was to assess the effects of a novel technique involving facial stretching of the unaffected side along with a structured exercise for the affected side on facial symmetry and facial functions as compared to conventional exercise. A hospital-based parallel-group randomized trial was completed among patients with acute Bell's palsy in Mangalore, India. Participants were randomized to receive facial stretching and a structured exercise program (experimental group) or the conventional exercise regimen (conventional group). Primary outcomes were facial symmetry and voluntary movement; assessed by the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System (SFGS). Both regimens were given for 3 weeks, with baseline, 10th day, and 20th day assessments. Out of 31 participants screened, 24 were eligible and 12 participants each were assigned to experimental and conventional groups. Change scores revealed greater improvement in the SFGS score (p = 0.002) for the experimental group participants. Facial stretching and structured exercise program exhibited promising results in enhancing facial symmetry and function in acute Bell's palsy when compared to conventional exercise regimen. SN - 2045-2322 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/38858464 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -