Facial Neuromuscular
Retraining Program

Treatment Program

Clinical Studies

Indications for Referral

Facial nerve rehabilitation continues to be one of the most under-treated area of rehabilitation. Approximately 25% to 30% of patients with Bell's palsy and post-acoustic neuroma excision are left with incomplete facial nerve function. Problems such as synkinesis, mass uncontrollable action of facial muscles create not only cosmetic inconvenience but also functional deficits with eating, drinking and most importantly communication.

Traditional therapy techniques such as electrical stimulation and gross facial exercises have been widely use in the treatment of facial paralysis even though there is evidence that this is ineffective and even contraindicated. Waxman in 19841 and Cohan in 19862 have suggested that electrical stimulation may interfere with neural regeneration and studies proving its efficacy are also lacking in the literature. Balliet's article in 19853 also demonstrated that gross non-specific facial exercises typically given to patients reinforce abnormal movement patterns.