The Efficacy of Mirror Therapy in Facial Palsy among Subjects with Facial Paralysis

International Journal of Research and Scientific Innovation (IJRSI) | Volume VI, Issue IX, September 2019 | ISSN 2321–2705

The Efficacy of Mirror Therapy in Facial Palsy among Subjects with Facial Paralysis

K. Bharathi¹, Ramya.S², Prof. D. Malarvizhi³

 ¹B.P.T., MIAP, Senior Physiotherapist, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
²Student, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
³Dean, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

I. INTRODUCTION

The seventh cranial nerve has the nucleus over pons. It exits the skull through Stylomastoid foramen and passes through parotid gland and gives five branches, they are Temporal, Zygomatic, Buccal, Mandibular and Cervical. The facial motor nucleus has dorsal and ventral divisions that contain lower motor neurons supplying the muscles of the upper and lower face. The dorsal division receives bilateral upper motor neuron input while the ventral division receives only contralateral input1. Lesions over Corticobulbar tract and the nucleus reduce or inhibit or stop the input to ventral division, but dorsal division input is maintained or not affected. So the facial palsy is found with hemiparesis of the contralateral facial muscles. Facial palsy comprises of peripheral and central facial palsy. Peripheral facial palsy affects superior and inferior region of face. The main cause of peripheral facial palsy is Bell’s palsy in which the cause remains unknown whereas the central facial palsy only affects the inferior area of the face1. Facial palsy is the weakness of musculature in the facial region with loss of sensation1. The facial muscles become weak and droop and it’s drawn across the opposite side of the face2. In partial facial palsy conditions, the lower part of the face is more affected. In severe facial palsy conditions the taste is affected over the anterior 2/3rd of tongue. It may cause mild dysarthria and difficulty in eating. The muscles of forehead escapes the lesion and remains unaffected as uncrossed areas from the ipsilateral and the supranuclear areas, movements in the frontalis and upper orbicularis oculi are often spared in such type of lesion. Also, many patients voluntary muscle control of the face is lost but the muscles for spontaneous emotional expressions remain unaffected.

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