الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract Background: Bell’s palsy is a disease involving the seventh cranial nerve, which regulates facial muscle action. These muscles become weak or paralyzed when this nerve is damaged. Objective: The goal of this study was to examine the efficacy of High Intensity Laser Therapy (HILT) in improving range of motion of facial muscles in patients with chronic Bell’s palsy. Subjects and Methods: Twenty five patients with chronic Bell’s palsy and twenty five normal subjects of both sexes were included in the study. Their ages varied from 20 to 40 years. Subjects were assigned into two equal groups: group A (control group): included twenty five normal subjects and group B (study group): included twenty five patients with chronic Bell’s palsy received pulsed Nd: YAG High intensity Laser, for a total of 4 sessions (one session /week) in addition to exercise therapy for 10 min. Five facial angles (raising, closing, smiling, kissing and blowing) have been measured three times on both sides of the face for all subjects throughout static and contraction positions. These angles were analyzed using the Auto-CAD program. Assessment was done one time for group (A) and pre and post treatment for group (B). Results: There was a significant increase of measured facial movement angles (raising eye brow, light eye closing, smiling, kissing, and blowing) on the non-affected side and significant decrease of these angles on the affected side following treatment in group B (P<0.05). There was a significant difference in all measured angles between non-affected and affected sides of the study group as compared to normal controls except for insignificant difference in light eye closing angles between affected sides of group B versus control group after treatment. Comparison between non-affected sides versus affected sides in group B showed significant differences in measured angles pre and post treatment except for smiling and kissing angles before treatment. Conclusion: High-Intensity Laser Therapy (HILT) is effective in improving the range of motion of facial muscles especially those of light eye closing in patients with chronic Bell’s palsy. |