Can you imagine waking up in the morning, looking in the mirror as you brush your teeth and seeing half your drooping? Or you go to take your first sip of coffee and it spills out of your mouth because you can’t control your lips?
How does it happen? This condition, called facial paralysis, can have several causes but is most commonly due to Bell’s Palsy. This is when a viral infection causes inflammation of the facial nerves, resulting in one side of the face drooping, feeling stiff, and having reduced or temporarily lost motor control. Another infection, the shingles virus, can have similar effects but is referred to as Ramsay Hunt Syndrome when presented on the face but can often take longer to recover from than Bell’s Palsy. Facial paralysis can also be seen as a side effect of a severe middle ear infection affecting the facial nerves, trauma to the head, autoimmune disorders such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, or stroke.
40,000 Americans experience some form of facial paralysis each year.
What are the symptoms? Depending on the severity of nerve damage in each specific case, side effects of facial paralysis can include difficulty blinking the eye, trouble chewing/swallowing, and even loss of balance and facial pain depending on which cranial nerves are affected. Some people will also experience synkinesis as they recover, meaning that some of the facial muscles begin to move together when they shouldn’t - for example, your eyebrow moving when you move your mouth.
How does Western Medicine treat this? The good news is that most people recover fully from facial paralysis, but quick intervention is key. Western doctors typically use steroids coupled with antiviral medications and painkillers to reduce swelling causing nerve damage. Physical therapists can also assist with facial exercises, massage and ultrasound therapy to enhance recovery.
Acupuncture, however, has been proven to be a crucial addition to these interventions if used frequently and as close to the onset of facial paralysis as possible in order to regain motor function.
How do we treat this with acupuncture? Thanks to celebrities like Angelina Jolie, acupuncture for facial paralysis has become relatively mainstream. Your acupuncturist will typically use electrical stimulation with the needles to run a current through the face, essentially “waking up” the damaged nerves. At Onyx, we also employ many of the same principles we have learned in our extensive cosmetic acupuncture trainings, using the needles for the dual purpose of stimulating flaccid/paralyzed muscles as well as relaxing facial muscles that have become stiff and rigid. We have experience with patients suffering from facial paralysis and understand how frustrating and non-linear the healing process can be. We will always combine facial acupuncture for paralysis with a full-body treatment tailored to your specific conditions.
If you have more questions about how facial paralysis can be treated with acupuncture, feel free to contact us here!