Chinese medicine and acupuncture approach to treating Bell’s Palsy is quite effective. In fact, I have seen it over and over in my practice in the past 20 years! Acupuncture is often the only safe, natural solution to Bell’s Palsy. It works very effectively especially if it’s done early in the diagnosis!

In today’s video, I share the western definition and their treatment options for Bell’s Palsy. Then I dive into the TCM view including different patterns of diagnosis, symptoms, acupuncture points, ear acupuncture, herbal formulas, and food recommendation.

Be sure to watch till the end for 3 simple treatments options you can give your patients to do at home in between treatments.

Keep rocking using TCM,
Clara
TCM Geek

PS: If you want more, check out my page with all my acupuncture treatment protocols from pain to high blood pressure! And if you haven’t invested in my book Chinese Medicine TREATMENTS Made Easy, get your copy here! 🙏

The Power of Acupuncture in Treating Bell’s Palsy

Bell’s Palsy Definition & Main Symptoms

Bell’s Palsy is a condition that affects the facial muscles and can cause temporary facial paralysis. It may caused by a dormant viral infection that affects the facial nerve, which controls the muscles on one side of the face. The exact cause is not yet known, but it is believed to be related to the herpes simplex virus, Epstein-Barr, and many others.

The symptoms of Bell’s Palsy can include sudden loss of feeling or paralysis on one side of the face. And drooling, drooping eyelid, inability to close one eye, loss of taste sensation, headaches, and pain or discomfort around the jaw and ear. These symptoms usually start suddenly and can be quite severe.

Bell’s Palsy is typically a self-limiting condition, which means that it will resolve on its own without treatment in most cases. However, the length of time that Bell’s Palsy lasts can vary from person to person. On average, it usually lasts for 2 to 6 weeks, but in some cases, it can last for several months or longer!

Western treatments options

There are several treatment options for Bell’s Palsy, including antiviral medications, corticosteroids, and physical therapy.

Chinese Medicine view on Bell’s Palsy

Bell’s Palsy is an invasion of external pathogen Wind. It occurs very quickly (as in Chinese Medicine, Wind produces rapid changes) within 48 hours the patient’s health will be affected.

The causes according to TCM:
long standing emotional stress combined with a weak immune system is the most common cause seen in clinical practice!

Acupuncture Points for Bell’s Palsy:

Acupuncture treatment is most effective when started as soon as possible after the onset of symptoms. So it’s important to seek treatment as soon as possible (acupuncture works best from the get go!).

The Best Acupuncture Points for Bell’s Palsy

1. REN 24 & DU 26 both activate the DU & REN vessels to allow calming of the facial nerve.
2. LI 4 is the BEST acupuncture for pain.
3. ST 36 nourishes Qi & Blood, and promote healing.
   

Research on Acupuncture for Bell’s Palsy

There have been several studies conducted on the effectiveness of acupuncture for the treatment of Bell’s Palsy.

1. A large randomized controlled trial published in the journal “The Lancet” in 2006 found that acupuncture was more effective than conventional treatment in reducing symptoms of Bell’s Palsy.
2. Another study published in the “Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine” in 2015 found that acupuncture was effective in reducing symptoms and improving facial function in patients with Bell’s Palsy.

Treatment Options for Bell’s Palsy

• Auricular Acupuncture: Jaw, Eye, Cheek, Shen Men.
• Electro-acupuncture (low setting) on ST 7 and ST 8.
• Wearing an eye patch and using hydrating eye drops daily to protect the eye affected.
• Moxa on the face for 10 minutes, daily. This works well for most patients to relieve the pain and promote blood circulation.
• Gentle Gua Sha face massage to promote healing and reduce inflammation.
• Meditation & relaxation to reduce the stress.
• Foods that help promote healing, boost immune system and speed up Bell’s Palsy recovery: blackstrap molasses, pumpkin & sesame seeds, and Reishi mushrooms. Additionally, avoiding food that create Wind is important. For example: eggs, shellfish, pork, and foods.

The Power of Acupuncture in Treating Bell’s Palsy Video Transcript

In today’s video, I’m going to talk about the amazing power of acupuncture for Bell’s Palsy. In my practice since 2003, I’ve seen it over and over how amazing acupuncture is for Bell’s Palsy!

Acupuncture is often the only safe natural effective way to treat Bell’s Palsy, especially if we can see the patients right after they’ve been diagnosed. The earlier, the better.

Hi, I’m Clara! Welcome back to my channel. If this is your first time, here I create Chinese medicine and acupuncture content for students and practitioners making it easy to grasp and fun to learn. Let’s do this!

Today I’m going to share the Western View on Bell’s Palsy, including believed cause symptoms and treatment. Then, we’ll dive into the Chinese medicine view, patterns, causes and treatment including: acupuncture points, food, herbal formula, and so many more treatment options. Stay till the end because I’ll have three simple strategies you can give your patients to do at home to add to your treatment as well.

I don’t know if you have seen a lot of patients with Bell’s palsy but I have over the years and the amazing outcome from acupuncture is something that we can’t take for granted. We need to continue to educate the public on this option because a lot of people don’t know they have this option. Often, the doctors may not know neither. So the more we can put the word out there, the better for the patient, the better outcome for them, and so the better the world. Right?

The Western Perspective on Bell’s Palsy

When it comes to Bell’s Palsy, the Western perspective cause is not quite known. Often they will say it could be coming from a dormant viral infection (like the Epstein-Barr virus or the Herpes virus or any kind of virus) that’s been dormant and kind of got activated. Maybe because the immune system got depleted, there was a lot of stress, they’re not quite sure. The main symptoms of Bell’s Palsy it looks kind of like a stroke or post-stroke. It happens on one side of the face and what happened is the patient loses feeling and sensation on that side and the muscles start drooping.

So there’s drooping of the eye, sometimes drooping of the lip just on one side, the eye sometimes can’t close and has to stay open. The eyelid is not able to close, there’s also sometimes pain from the facial nerve that gets activated. Fatigue, headaches, tinnitus can also come up from those symptoms. For some patients there will be ear pain, jaw pain as well. This whole one side of the face will be affected, and it can create headaches that goes all the way to the back. The solution to it is to wait and often it will resolve on itself, between two to six months. It’s a long time to live with this condition; however, for some people it does not resolve at all.

It’s really important to try to help the patient as fast as possible.

When it comes to Western treatment there’s not a lot of options. Physical therapy, corticosteroids or antiviral medication is what patients have access to. This is why we know acupuncture is such a good tool. It’s safe, it’s effective, it’s fast and it has no side effects. So it’s the best way, right?

The Chinese medicine Perspective on Bell’s Palsy

Today, we’re really gonna dive into the Chinese medicine view on this and how we can treat patients as effectively as we can.

So now let’s talk about the Chinese medicine perspective on Bell’s Palsy causes wise. We look at the fact that there is a long-standing amount of stress that depletes the immune system. So, it’s basically Wood in the Five Element really insulting the Metal, or Liver insulting Lung depleting the immune system, right?

Then if there is an internal pathogen that’s been sitting there for a while, it kind of reactivates.

It’s really an immune system depleted by stress

Which is often what the Western medicine is saying. Then the pattern–or what happened–is there’s external pathogen, Wind that invades the body really quickly. Within 48 hours there’s a quick change and now the person has half of the face or Hemiplegia Paralysis looking like Paralysis on the side of the face. So the external pathogen Wind is what creates this condition and it eventually it becomes internal. So, we need to treat it as soon as possible because it is still external pathogens. Makes sense?

That’s the cause and the symptoms and the main pattern. Now, I’m going to look at each pattern, what points we use, what formula, what are the symptoms, so we can differentiate and do a really good deep dive into acupuncture treatment.

The Two Main Common Patterns in Bell’s Palsy

As you can see, the first one is more of a deficiency type and the second one is more of a Nexus type. They both have Wind because that’s the external pathogen. Wind starts the whole process.

So the first pattern, which has been Spleen Qi sinking, is rapid onset of mild weakness to total paralysis on one side of the face occurring within a couple of days. Right?

When it comes to Spleen Qi sinking, remember it’s going against gravity it’s dropping down. So facial drooping is very much one of the main symptoms. Specifically also eye drooping as well. There is difficulty in closing the eyes because it’s usually on one side of the face. Or smiling because one side is drooping as well, so it’s very hard to have or to make facial expressions. The person is also drooling, there is excess saliva.

Because, when there is Spleen Qi sinking there is Spleen Qi deficiency prior to that, so there usually is excess fluid. Remember Spleen is in charge of Water metabolism, so there’s also sometimes a loss of sense of taste. The person’s not hungry, there’s a really poor appetite, they’re exhausted, very very very fatigued. They have loose stools, pale face, pale tongue with teeth marks (which is really a sign of stress).

You know, when people are stressed they have tendency to clench their teeth and then eventually we get teeth marks and that depletes the Spleen. The Spleen gets fatigued, the pulse is weak (specifically in the middle right position, which is the Spleen position).

Blood stasis versus Wind

When we compare this to blood stasis with Wind, the same thing happened.

At the beginning, which is the external Wind invasion, there’s a rapid onset of total paralysis on one side of the face. This occurs within a few hours. So this one’s a little faster than the first one.

Then there’s going to be facial drooping and same thing, difficulty in making facial expressions. Such as closing the eyes or smiling. Now, the one more symptom that’s different from the one, before is because there is blood stasis. Remember blood stasis and TCM means purple and pain the two P’s, right?

Purple and pain so there’s got to be pain and usually it’s a stabbing pain around the jaw, behind the ear. And around the head area, which basically creates a bad constant headache. This affects the side of the face that’s obviously been affected by the external Wind invading the body. So it’s really sensitivity to sound as well, everything light and sound gets really amplified, right? The tongue is purple, the pulse is choppy–wiry often because it is due to again, stress that created or activated the condition.

Course Break

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Raise Spleen Qi 

So when you look at the points that are for Spleen Qi sinking, we have to raise Spleen Qi. Raise the energy back up. We’re going to use Spleen 6 for that, Ren 6, Stomach 26 and Du 20. It really raises the energy and if you feel like the person is a little cold, then you could add moxa on those points, right?

Then we are going to do points that are specifically for the facial area: so Ren 24 and DU 26 are going to be on the chin and above the lip. So to start really activate the muscle around the mouth, to get smiling possibility. Then  we’re also going to do points that are all around the area affected like the Stomach Meridian. Specifically, like Stomach 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, right? Around the jaw, the eye, and the mouth. Stomach 7 which is right below the zygomatic arch, which often there’s a lot of pain.

There is Stomach 8 also really useful specifically because it lifts energy and it’s good to address the facial nerve. Gallbladder 3.

You can use any point on that area that you think would be the best suited for your patients.

San Jiao points can be used, as well SJ 23 which is at the end of the eyebrow can be used. Gallbladder 14. If you think there’s a lot more that can be done, you can put more. This is just a basic, right. It makes sense? Okay.

Now, let’s talk about blood stasis. Blood stasis, obviously we want to move blood. We want to move Qi. So the first point is LI 4 because it’s the Commander point of the face. It has to be there it, commands the face, right? This is the most important point. It is going to command the treatment. Also SJ 5, because it goes behind the ear and it goes around the eye area. This is a really good point when there’s lots of stagnation, specifically on the face with lots of pain.

Now Stomach 45 is great to bring the energy down because usually your blood stasis is all the energy is up at the top. With all this pain, we want to bring it down to the foot. You can add up other points if you want: like Liver 3 Gallbladder 34. That I often add for purpose of moving blood. Then we want to do the same thing for the face, right? You pick the points on the face. You can see those are exactly the same points as the pattern above, and you can choose to add more to it less to it. Depending on where the area that’s affected is most prominent, right?

This is really local point that you can use so that’s pretty simple. We want to raise the Qi or we want to move blood stasis and then we want to go where facial area is. Make sense? Awesome!

In addition to acupuncture…

Electro acupuncture

We did all the points. Now we want to do Electro acupuncture to add to our point prescription. Often with Electro acupuncture I will do Stomach 7 and Stomach 8 or maybe Stomach 6 and Stomach 4. You can put also both right? Two different prongs. So with E-stim I will usually do a very low setting. We don’t want to be sharp and strong, we want to be very gentle for about 10 minutes of the treatment. And then I’ll take it off and leave the patients with another 20-25 minutes with the needles. I think that works really, really well. E-stim is really helpful in getting circulation and activating the nerves.

Ear acupuncture

The second treatment option is ear acupuncture. I love ear acupuncture, it’s one of my favorite micro system because it works so well. In general I’m going to use points like the cheek, the jaw, the ear. You could use the eye, you can use the lips as well and then Shen Men. AND you can put ear seeds on your patient so they can activate and acupressure those seeds while they’re away in between treatments.

How often do I see Bell’s Palsy patients?

Usually, I try to tell the patient that it’d be great to come at least twice to three times a week depending on the schedule and what can be done for them, but at least twice not less than that. Three times a week would be much more effective or faster. Two times a week still works quite well.

In my 20 years of practice since 2003, usually for most patients it takes about four to six weeks to get everything back to normal. For some patients it took less than two weeks because they came right away.

That’s the power of the internet because everybody is more educated now or they look it up and they see acupuncture and they start getting immediate assistance and support. Which is the best outcome for us.

Moxa

Another treatment option is moxa. It’s really good to use moxa. You can show your patients how to do it on the facial area just around here to get some heat. Moxa 10 minutes every day would be really, really good to bring circulation and to help the process of healing much faster.

Gua Sha

I love Gua Sha. I think it’s underutilized. What I do when it comes to Bell’s Palsy is I will do Gua Sha on the facial area that’s affected prior to needling, for about 10 minutes to really activate the muscle and get some movement and circulation. Then I will needle, do some E-stim so for 10 minutes, so we’ll get a lot of activation there and then for the last 20-25 minutes I’ll let the patient rest and the patient’s body ability to self-regulate on its own with low stimulation.

Food & Nutrition

Now one of the things we don’t talk often for Bell’s Palsy is food or nutrition which is kind of odd to me because the digestive system is at the center of our health. This is really important. So we want to have food that boosts the immune system so our body can fight and improve circulation and healing, right? That’s what we want to look for. So, what do we recommend patients to add to their diet and to avoid in general add: seeds like sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds which are great in zinc. Reishi mushrooms, black strap molasses is a good one in general. We want to avoid as well to eat processed food and avoid foods that create internal Wind or excess Wind like eggs or shellfish or pork. So that’s for the food perspective.

Chinese Herbal Formulas

so we haven’t talked about Chinese herbal formulas. When it comes to Bell’s Palsy, however, there are some formulas we can use in conjunction with everything else. However I think the physical therapy like acupuncture regular acupuncture and everything that we’ve talked about is really very effective.

When it comes to Spleen Qi sinking, one of the pattern of Bell’s Palsy like we talked earlier the best formula is Bu Zhong Yi Qi Tang which means “tonify the middle and raise the Qi”. It’s a really good formula.

The main King Herb in that formula is Huang Qi which is Astragalus. Astragalus is really good in boosting the immune system and raising energy. So that’s a good formula for this.

The other one is for blood stasis. So if there is blood stasis, there’s tons of formulas for blood stasis that are going to be really useful like Tao Hong Si Wu Tang is really good when there’s a lot of pain. It’ll move a lot of blood so that works quite well as well.

Putting it all together

However, the formulas are not going to be enough or the most important part of the treatment. The physical one is the most important part like moxa, like Gua Sha, like E-stim, or regular acupuncture and specifically acupuncture itself. Facial massage can be used as well.

At the beginning of this video I talked about three strategies you can tell your patients to do at home to speed up the healing process in between sessions. We talk about ear seeds, moxa, Gua Sha. They can do all this at home; however, wearing an eye patch is essential to give the eye a rest. Also hydrating eye drops will help because the eye will dry so fast if the lid does not close. And one more thing, is to find ways to meditate and destress relaxation methods because all this starts with an amount of stress that created the depleted immune system.

So it’s really important people or patients find ways to meditate and de-stress. Those are three strategies I think you should recommend to your patients because they work really well. I’ve seen it in the last 20 years of my practice.

Have you seen this replay of the live video on acute pain and acupuncture? Watch it it’s one of my most popular ones. Thank you for watching today, The power of acupuncture for Bell’s Palsy.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below and if you found this video of value: please share it with others and subscribe that’s all I’m asking of you! Lots more on my website enjoy have a fantastic day and no matter what keep rocking it using TCM ☯️