In 2018, we published an article in a scientific paper with the topic: “Nerve conduction study in rehabilitation of patients with residuals and complications of long-standing Bell’s palsy”.
Article author: A. Pashov
Journal: Fundamental and applied researches in the practice of leading scientific schools – ISSN 2313-7525
Date: 29/06/2018
This article is about our method of measuring nerve conductivity in facial muscles after facial and Bell’s palsy. Our method addresses the issues of general Nerve Conduction Study and elaborates on the improvements to this study made by the clinic’s specialists to overcome the issues and improve the results.
This method of measurement helps us to diagnose and record the level of nerve conductivity in facial muscles. It shows us how much the facial nerve has been affected and the extent of synkinesis in specific muscles. We make several measurements throughout the process of recovery in the clinic to objectively see the progress of each patient and how the nerve conductivity improves with the help of our rehabilitation program.
In the article “Nerve conduction study in the rehabilitation of patients with residuals and complications of long-standing Bell’s palsy” you can find more details about how we make the measurements and why.
Read the full article about Nerve Conduction Study
Excerpt from the article:
From every 100 cases of Bell’s palsy (idiopathic peripheral facial palsy) from 15 to 30 will not recover completely. Some residuals will remain, and some complications will develop. As residuals, one can name weakness of facial muscles, asymmetry of facial expressions, distortion of taste, hyperacusis, dry eye. Possible complications of long-standing Bell’s palsy are also numerous: contractures of facial muscles, pathological synkinesis, mass movements, crocodile tears, facial pains, headaches, emotional disbalance etc.
Unresolved cases of Bell’s palsy require rehabilitation programs that will address both the issues of general nerve regeneration, complications and irregularities in mimetic movements. There are several methods and systems to assess the condition of facial nerve and functioning of facial muscles. These scales and systems are either therapist- or patient-graded: House-Brackmann Facial Grading system, Sunnybrook Facial Grading system, Facial Clinimetric Evaluation Scale (FaCE Scale), Synkinesis Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) and several others.
To compose a well-balanced and focused rehabilitation program, next to subjective assessments and test-photos of standard facial expressions, it is important to have an objective, instrumentally-measured picture of facial nerve recovery, as well as of the physiological ability of mimetic muscles to perform facial movements, to reflect emotions and to produce articulated speech.
In that respect, the surface EMG or Nerve Conduction Study is the modality of choice. It records Compound Muscle Action Potentials in response to external stimulation. The analysis of recorded graphs allows to evaluate the level of regeneration and maturity of recovering axons in main branches of the facial nerve.
