{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T06:14:27Z","timestamp":1790144067272,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790121600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Peripheral facial nerve palsy can impair facial symmetry, eye closure, oral competence, communication, and quality of life. Although spontaneous recovery is common, some patients experience persistent functional and psychosocial impairment. Evidence for structured adjunctive rehabilitation during the acute and early-subacute phases remains limited. We examined whether a standardized multicomponent facial rehabilitation program, added to usual care, was associated with more favorable short-term outcomes than usual care alone.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This prospective controlled cohort study included 160 adults with acute or early-subacute unilateral peripheral facial nerve palsy. Eighty-four participants received usual care plus a standardized program comprising facial acupuncture, therapist-assisted facial massage, supervised facial movement training, and daily home exercises over 12 supervised sessions during 6\u202fweeks; 76 received usual care alone. Allocation was non-randomized and based on clinician recommendation and patient preference, and outcome assessors were not blinded. The primary outcome was Week 12 Sunnybrook Facial Grading System (SFGS) total score. Secondary outcomes included SFGS subscales, House\u2013Brackmann outcomes, Facial Disability Index (FDI), Facial Clinimetric Evaluation (FaCE), pain, and stiffness. Adjusted between-group differences were estimated using multivariable regression controlling for baseline values and prespecified clinical covariates.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      SFGS scores improved in both groups, with greater observed improvement in participants receiving the multicomponent program. At Week 12, mean SFGS scores were 82.5\u202f\u00b1\u202f11.8 versus 69.5\u202f\u00b1\u202f11.5, with mean improvements of 46.7\u202f\u00b1\u202f12.6 versus 33.2\u202f\u00b1\u202f12.5 points. The adjusted between-group difference was 12.7 points (95% CI, 8.8\u201316.7;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). Repeated-measures analysis showed a significant group-by-time interaction (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f&amp;lt;\u202f0.001). More favorable observed outcomes were also found for FDI physical and social\/wellbeing scores, FaCE total score, stiffness, and House\u2013Brackmann recovery thresholds. House\u2013Brackmann Grade I\u2013II was achieved by 79.8% versus 34.2% at Week 12.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>The multicomponent rehabilitation program was associated with more favorable short-term clinician-rated and patient-reported outcomes. Given the non-randomized allocation and unblinded assessment, these findings are hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in randomized, blinded, attention-matched trials.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2026.1931200","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T05:49:01Z","timestamp":1790142541000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Short-term clinical outcomes associated with a standardized multicomponent facial rehabilitation program in acute or early-subacute peripheral facial nerve palsy: a prospective controlled cohort study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Wong Guo","family":"Lin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Traditional Chinese Medicine of Xiamen University Malaysia","place":["Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1896","DOI":"10.1007\/s00415-019-09282-4","article-title":"The etiology of Bell's palsy: a review","volume":"267","author":"Zhang","year":"2020","journal-title":"J Neurol"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"4","DOI":"10.1080\/000164802320401694","article-title":"Bell's palsy: the spontaneous course of 2,500 peripheral facial nerve palsies of different etiologies","volume":"122","author":"Peitersen","year":"2002","journal-title":"Acta Otolaryngol Suppl"},{"key":"ref3","first-page":"S1","article-title":"Clinical practice guideline: Bell's palsy","volume":"149","author":"Baugh","year":"2013","journal-title":"Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1598","DOI":"10.1056\/nejmoa072006","article-title":"Early treatment with 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disability index: reliability and validity of a disability assessment instrument for disorders of the facial neuromuscular system","volume":"76","author":"VanSwearingen","year":"1996","journal-title":"Phys Ther"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.21053\/ceo.2026-00096","article-title":"Clinical practice guideline for the evaluation and Management of Facial Nerve Palsy","author":"Lee","year":"2026","journal-title":"Clin Exp Otorhinolaryngol"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1019554","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2022.1019554","article-title":"Pathogenesis, diagnosis and therapy of facial synkinesis: a systematic review and clinical practice recommendations by the international head and neck scientific group","volume":"13","author":"Guntinas-Lichius","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Neurol"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"570","DOI":"10.1177\/0194599810397497","article-title":"Sunnybrook and House-Brackmann systems 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systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"43","author":"\u00d6zden","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neurol Sci"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2182","DOI":"10.1177\/00315125241284677","article-title":"The effects of telerehabilitation-based exercise therapy on motor and non-motor clinical outcomes in adults with facial palsy: a randomized controlled trial","volume":"131","author":"Ozden","year":"2024","journal-title":"Percept Mot Skills"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in 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