Bell’s Palsy, Pregnancy, and Acupuncture: A Natural Treatment and Quick Recovery
When Kat came into my clinic she was 33 weeks pregnant with twins. She had woken up three days prior and felt an odd sensation in her face: looking in the mirror she discovered half of her face was drooping and she couldn’t move her face muscles at all. Panic and thinking she had suffered some type of stroke she rushed to the hospital. After a quick examination, Kat found out that she had Bell’s Palsy.
What is Bell’s Palsy?
Her doctor explained to her that Bell’s Palsy was a condition that affected the face, causing a weakening or paralysis of the facial muscles. The paralysis of the muscles is caused by temporary damage to the facial nerve.
The facial nerve supplies the facial muscles and provides the necessary communication so that your brain can command those muscles to move: smiling, closing your eyes, wiggling your nose, raising an eyebrow are all made possible through the facial nerve. In Bell’s Palsy, that nerve becomes inflamed or swollen, compromising its function.
This in turn causes half of your face to droop and you become unable to move your face on one side.
What triggers Bell’s Palsy during pregnancy?
While most may not know, pregnant women are in fact at higher risk for Bell’s Palsy than the non-pregnant population (by as much as 3x). The time-frame of greatest risk for developing it are during the third trimester or within the first week after birth.
In terms of what causes the facial nerve to become inflamed or compressed, there is no conclusive answer. They associate it with viral infections, high stress, or low immune systems – but these are theories and not concrete causes.
How long does it take to recover from Bell’s Palsy?
Kat’s doctor told her that she should be able to start noticing improvements within a few weeks and make a significant to full recovery within 6 months. Kat was prescribed corticosteroids and was able to leave the hospital same-day.
While the prognosis was positive, the news lay heavy on her. Here she was – 33 weeks pregnant – due to give birth to her twins within a month, and she wasn’t sure if she would be able to physically smile or close her eyes. It was overwhelming and not the way she had imagined starting parenthood.
Upon the suggestion of her chiropractor, Kat decided to add acupuncture to her recovery protocol. She had heard positive things about it, and was all for trying something else that might speed up her recovery.
Bell’s Palsy Treatment
It is important to note that the earlier you treat Bell’s Palsy, the more likely you are to have a full recovery. It is recommended to start treatment within the first three days of symptom onset. This is regardless of whether you are doing western conventional treatments or eastern treatments like acupuncture.
In Kat’s case, she had come to clinic on the third day after the onset of her symptoms.
Is Acupuncture Effective for Bell’s Palsy?
During Kat’s initial acupuncture session, we did an examination of her face and muscle mobility. She was unable to smile, close her eyes, or raise her eyebrows on the right side of her face. On top of this, she had a burning pain spreading across the face. We agreed on a treatment course of acupuncture twice a week for a period of 3 weeks.
The treatments focused on reducing facial nerve inflammation and restoring movement in the paralyzed facial muscles. Acupuncture has been shown in numerous studies to be incredibly effective at reducing pain and inflammation in the body because of its ability to stimulate the body to release its own natural pain killers.
Three days after her first acupuncture treatment, Kat was showing promising progress. The facial pain was down by 75% and she was starting to feel tingling sensations in the paralyzed muscles of her face. By the end of the first week, the facial pain was gone and she was able to move the side of her mouth to make a semi-smile. Most significant, however, was that she no longer needed to tape her right eye shut at night because she could now close it on her own.
Within 2.5 weeks, Kat’s face looked back to normal and she was close to 90% recovered in terms of facial muscle mobility. Eyebrow movement was the last muscle movement to recover, and this was achieved fully by the end of the fourth week of treatment.
After one month of treatment, Kat had completely recovered and no longer needed treatments.
She gave birth to a healthy set of boys a week after that!
When Should I Start Acupuncture?
A major part of Kat’s success was due to her ability to receive treatments within a week of the Bell’s Palsy onset. As a general rule of thumb, the sooner one receives treatment, the better the prognosis.
There are patients who come for Bell’s Palsy treatment months or even years after the original onset because their facial movement never completely healed on its own. These chronic cases are often more difficult and take a much greater length of time in order to achieve results. Even then, recovery is not guaranteed.
When it comes to frequency of treatments, acupuncture follows a simple rule. Acute and relatively new conditions are most effectively treated with more frequent visits, whereas chronic and old conditions can benefit from treatments more spread out. In other words, if you just had an onset of Bell’s Palsy, you will probably be prescribed 2-3 treatments per week in order to get the most effective results. Chronic cases will generally come in only once a week.
If you or loved one was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy and you want to learn more about acupuncture and whether it’s appropriate for your case, send us a message through our contact page!
Be Well and Healthy,
Dr. Kamron
