Effectiveness of Mime Therapy vs Conventional Therapy for Bell's Palsy

Effectiveness of Mime Therapy and Conventional Therapy for the Patients of Bell's Palsy

The objective of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of mime therapy and conventional therapy for improving facial functional mobility and coordination.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Bell Palsy
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Mime therapy with Conventional therapy; Other: Conventional therapy

Detailed Description

This will be a Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT). Sample will be taken using Non-Probability Convenient Sampling. Sample size of 34 participants that will be randomly allocated into two groups using a coin toss method. Group A (intervention group) will receive mime therapy along with conventional therapy, while Group B (control group) will receive only conventional therapy were given 45 minutes per day for 3-4 sessions in a week for 3 weeks. Outcomes will be measured by using the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System for checking facial symmetry and the House-Brackmann Facial Grading System for measuring severity of paresis.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 34
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Pakistan
  • Punjab
    • Gujranwala, Punjab, Pakistan, 52250
      • Al Raee Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patient diagnosed with acute bell's palsy
• All genders and intact taste sensations
• No other neurological deficit involving face

Exclusion Criteria:

• Uncontrolled hypertension
• Stroke patients
• Patient with mental and dental implants
• Patient with recurrent facial palsy
• Patient with tumors, congenital defects, open wound

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Group A; Group A is the experimental group having 17 participants randomly chosen by using coin toss method according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Baseline Treatment include DL2 electric stimulation at 20-50Hz for 90 repetitions and Infrared lamp placed 30-45cm away from the body for 10-15 minutes. Mime Therapy along with Conventional Therapy.	Other: Mime therapy with Conventional therapy; Experimental group was given mime therapy along with conventional therapy. Mirror therapy, Raising eyebrows as if surprised, Widening eyes in shock, blinking rapidly, Extreme smiling, Eye closure with dramatic expressions, exaggeration nose wrinkling. pouting and mouth opening, expression transitions. Total sessions given are 4-5 per week in 3 weeks consist of 45 mins. Number of repetitions are 5-10 with the hold of 5 second x 2 sets.
Active Comparator: Group B; Group B is the active comparator group having 17 participants randomly chosen by using coin toss method according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Baseline Treatment include DL2 electric stimulation at 20-50Hz for 90 repetitions and Infrared lamp placed 30-45cm away from the body for 10-15 minutes. Conventional Therapy.	Other: Conventional therapy; Raising and lowering eyebrows, Wrinkling nose, smiling, frowning, massage. Total sessions given are 4-5 per week in 3 weeks consist of 45 mins. Number of repetitions are 5-10 with the hold of 5 second x 2 sets.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Facial Disability Index	it includes physical well being scale which consist of 5 questions with a 0-5 scoring and social functional scale which consist of 5 questions with a 1-6 scoring.	4 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
House Brackmann Facial Grading Scale	It classifies facial nerve function into six grades, ranging from Grade 1(normal function) to Grade 6 (complete paralysis). It is widely used for assessing facial nerve recovery.	4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Elite College of Management Sciences, Gujranwala, Pakistan
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Rimza Safdar, DPT, Elite College of Management Sciences

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Beurskens CH, Heymans PG. Mime therapy improves facial symmetry in people with long-term facial nerve paresis: a randomised controlled trial. Aust J Physiother. 2006;52(3):177-83. doi: 10.1016/s0004-9514(06)70026-5.

Helpful Links

• In 2025, Islam Hussain and M Samir conducted a systemic review and meta analysis in which He concluded the effectiveness of mime therapy in improving clinical and functional outcomes.
• In 2019, A.F. D'Souza, S.R. Rebello conducted a study in order to compare the effectiveness of mime therapy with neuromuscular in patients with acute Bell's Palsy.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 1, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): July 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 30, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): July 10, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 10, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 5, 2025
• Last Verified: July 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Rehabilitation; Bell Palsy
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Mouth Diseases; Stomatognathic Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Infections; Virus Diseases; DNA Virus Infections; Herpesviridae Infections; Cranial Nerve Diseases; Facial Nerve Diseases; Paralysis; Bell Palsy; Facial Paralysis
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2020-GCUF-079255

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No