Acupuncture and tuina massage in the treatment of Bell's palsy

Abstract

Introduction: Peripheral Facial Palsy is defined as the weakness or paralysis of the musculature innervated by the facial nerve due to lesions of the seventh cranial nerve anywhere in its path from the nucleus of origin to the structures innervated by it. Objective: to assess the use of acupuncture and tuina massage in the treatment of patients with Bell's palsy. Methods: a prospective and longitudinal therapeutic clinical study of patients with Bell's peripheral facial palsy from January 2017 to January 2018, evaluated by questioning and neurological and traditional physical examination. At the beginning and end of the treatment the House-Brackmannc scale was applied as an instrument to evaluate the application of the treatment. Demographic, clinical and outcome variables were explored. Results: male gender predominated and the group from 30 to 50 years old, the most frequent traditional diagnosis was cold wind and in 84.6 % of patients the treatment applied was satisfactory, with an average recovery time of 38 days. Conclusions: the application of acupuncture and tuina massage is a successful traditional technique to treat Peripheral Facial Palsy.

Keywords

• parálisis facial
• masaje tuina
• acupuntura
• parálisis de bell
• medicina tradicional