Zeitschrift für neuartige Physiotherapien

Abstrakt

Effectiveness of Electro-stimulation as a Treatment for Bell's Palsy: An Update Review

Ramos-Jimenez Arnulfo, Jose Manuel Garcia-Rivera, Rosa Patricia Hernandez-Torres, Erik Holguin and Rafael Villalobos-Molina

Objective: To search for evidence that supports electro-stimulation as a treatment for Bell’s palsy.

Methods: An update (2000-2014) review of randomized and controlled clinical trials (inclusion criteria) was done in the following databases: Cochrane, Ebsco, Elsevier, Google Scholar, Imbiomed, Medigraphic, PEDro and PubMed, with these keywords alone and combined: electro-stimulation, Bell’s palsy, physiotherapy, facial paralysis, parálisis facial and electro estimulación.

Results: 3512 reports of electro-stimulation alone or combined with other therapies in humans were included, however only five met all inclusion criteria. Electro-stimulation alone or combined with other therapies gives no major benefits than conventional treatments for Bell’s paralysis.

Conclusion: There is insufficient evidence to support electro-stimulation as an effective method to treat Bell’s palsy.