Study on the Optimal Waveform Patterns of Electroacupuncture Targeted Intervention for Bell's Palsy Based on Surface Electromyography Characteristics

August 31, 2026 updated by: Jing Sun, The Third Affiliated hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University

The goal of this clinical study is to find out whether different electronic acupuncture wave forms can effectively treat recovery-stage Bell's palsy in adults and evaluate their safety.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

  • Can targeted electronic acupuncture wave forms improve facial nerve function in patients with Bell's palsy?
  • What is the optimal electronic acupuncture waveform for different degrees of facial nerve injury?
  • What adverse events may occur during electronic acupuncture treatment? Researchers will compare low-frequency continuous wave electronic acupuncture and intermittent wave electronic acupuncture to determine which waveform works better for recovery-stage Bell's palsy.

Participants will:

  • Receive either low-frequency continuous wave electronic acupuncture or intermittent wave electronic acupuncture every other day for 4 weeks
  • Undergo surface sEMG and ENoG examinations at baseline, Week 2, and Week 4
  • Complete facial function assessments and safety evaluations at each clinic visit

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

100

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria for Bell's Palsy Subjects：

  • Meet the above Bell's palsy diagnostic criteria;
  • Age 18-65 years, either gender;
  • Disease course in recovery phase (21 days ≤ course ≤ 6 months) and not recovered (FNGS 2.0 score >4);
  • Voluntarily participate in this study and sign informed consent.

Inclusion Criteria for Healthy Subjects：

  • Do not meet the above Bell's palsy diagnostic criteria;
  • Age 18-65 years, either gender, matched to Bell's palsy subjects within 5 years for age and gender;
  • Normal facial nerve function, FNGS 2.0 score = 4;
  • Voluntarily participate in this study and sign informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria for Bell's Palsy Subjects：

  • Facial trauma, skin lesions, or other diseases that may cause facial paralysis symptoms;
  • Diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome (herpes zoster oticus);
  • Bilateral facial paralysis;
  • Previous history of facial paralysis;
  • Facial synkinesis, contracture, or spasm already present;
  • History of facial surgery;
  • Uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, severe cardiac, hepatic, or renal disease, cognitive impairment, aphasia, or mental disorders;
  • Pacemaker use;
  • Pregnant or lactating patients.

Exclusion Criteria for Healthy Subjects：

  • Facial trauma, skin lesions, or other diseases that may affect facial muscle activity;
  • Previous history of facial paralysis;
  • History of facial surgery;
  • Uncontrolled diabetes, hypertension, severe cardiac, hepatic, or renal disease, cognitive impairment, aphasia, or mental disorders;
  • Pacemaker use;
  • Pregnant or lactating patients.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Non-severe injury + Low-frequency continuous wave
Procedure: electroacupuncture waveform
The non-severe injury group was randomly divided into two subgroups: one treated with low-frequency continuous wave and the other with intermittent wave.The severe injury group was also randomly divided into two subgroups: one treated with low-frequency continuous wave and the other with intermittent wave.
Experimental: Non-severe injury + Interrupted wave
Procedure: electroacupuncture waveform
The non-severe injury group was randomly divided into two subgroups: one treated with low-frequency continuous wave and the other with intermittent wave.The severe injury group was also randomly divided into two subgroups: one treated with low-frequency continuous wave and the other with intermittent wave.
Experimental: Severe injury + Low-frequency continuous wave
Procedure: electroacupuncture waveform
The non-severe injury group was randomly divided into two subgroups: one treated with low-frequency continuous wave and the other with intermittent wave.The severe injury group was also randomly divided into two subgroups: one treated with low-frequency continuous wave and the other with intermittent wave.
Experimental: Severe injury + Interrupted wave
Procedure: electroacupuncture waveform
The non-severe injury group was randomly divided into two subgroups: one treated with low-frequency continuous wave and the other with intermittent wave.The severe injury group was also randomly divided into two subgroups: one treated with low-frequency continuous wave and the other with intermittent wave.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
FNGS2.0
Time Frame: week4
FNGS 2.0 stands for Facial Nerve Grading System 2.0, with a total score range of 4 to 24; lower scores indicate better facial nerve function (4 = normal), while higher scores indicate more severe facial paralysis (24 = complete facial palsy).
week4

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Sunnybrook Facial Grading System,SBGS
Time Frame: week4
1.SBGS：Score range: 0-100, with higher scores indicating better facial nerve function.
week4

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

The Third Affiliated hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

September 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

September 20, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

November 20, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 6, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 19, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

September 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 31, 2026

Last Verified

June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • GZY-KJS-ZJ-2026-056

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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