Myofunctional Therapy in Facial Palsy

Improvement of Facial Symmetry With Myofunctional Therapy Combined to Botulinum Toxin Injections in Long Standing Facial Paralysis

Status

Completed

Phases

Study type

Interventional

Source

ClinicalTrials.gov

Registry ID

NCT00989209

Enrollment

Registered

2009-10-05

Start date

2005-01-31

Completion date

2006-12-31

Last updated

2009-10-05

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Facial Paralysis

Keywords

facial paralysis, asymmetry, myofunctional therapy, botulinum toxin, facial evaluation

Brief summary

Objective: Quantify the benefits of myofunctional therapy associated to botulinum toxin injection in patients with long standing facial unilateral palsy.

Detailed description

Twenty-five patients with long standing facial palsy were studied; all had been previously treated for facial reanimation. Patients were randomly divided in two groups; Group A did the myofunctional therapy sessions with the speech therapist before the botulinum toxin injection, while the participants of Group B did the myofunctional therapy after it.

Interventions

DRUGBotulinum Toxin Type A

All the patients received a one-time treatment with botulinum toxin type A to the non-paralyzed side, according to the Institution Protocol,the total dose used per patient ranged from 15-69U, mean 37.9±5.4U.

PROCEDUREmyofunctional therapy

All the patients were submitted to individual myofunctional therapy with the speech therapist, once a week, by four weeks.The myofunctional therapy began with isometric maneuvers for muscular elongation on the non paralyzed side, and on the paralyzed side when microsurgical reconstruction was present. It also included isotonic maneuvers to increase muscle tonus and isokinetic maneuvers to increase force on the paralyzed side.

Study design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE (Subject)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

ALL

Age

16 Years to 62 Years

Healthy volunteers

Yes

Inclusion criteria

* facial paralysis with more than 2 years elapsed since the onset of symptoms * surgically treated for reanimation at least 12 months before * static and/or dynamic facial asymmetry causing aesthetic concern

Exclusion criteria

* spastic paralysis * serious systemic or neuromuscular diseases * cognition impairment * pregnant women

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Clinical score	2 months

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
Facial Disability Index (self-report instrument)	2 months

Countries

Brazil

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026