Bell’s Palsy and Its Physiotherapy Management

Abstract

Sir Charles Bell was the first to present the anatomical basis of Bell’s Palsy. Bell’s Palsy is named after him. Bell’s palsy can be defined as an acute idiopathic lower motor neuron lesion of the facial nerve leading to the unilateral paralysis of facial muscles. It affects all age groups equally; however, incidences are more seen in ages ranging from 15 years to 45 years. Bell’s palsy starts unexpectedly, and symptoms might be different for different people. The symptoms range from mild weakness to total paralysis. Some of the symptoms are the dropping of the corner of mouth and eyebrow, inability to close eye, obliterated nasolabial fold and loss of forehead wrinkles. Physiotherapy interventions play an important role in accelerating recovery, improving facial function and reducing the occurrence of complications. Common physiotherapy interventions are Electrical stimulation, facial massage, facial exercises and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation. Apart from neural mobilization is a new upcoming technique which should be added in the treatment protocol. This article aims to discuss the current techniques and elaborate on the newer techniques.