Acupuncture Facial Synkinesis

There are a wide range of disorders that are characterized by problems with the nerves and muscles of the face. One of these is known as Bell's palsy. Doctors are not completely sure of the cause of this common affliction, but it is suspected that it might be related to a viral infection of the facial nerves. It tends to strike people between the ages of twenty and thirty five. The symptoms include facial paralysis and numbness. Bell's palsy will clear up without treatment in about 80% of cases although the duration of the illness might be as long as a year.

There is a town located in China that has an abnormally high rate of Bell's palsy. Acupuncturists in this town have had much experience in its treatment and have developed some techniques that are extremely effective. One of these involves the rapid insertion and then removal of needles on points located on the face itself.

Acupuncture is also indicated in the treatment of a related syndrome known as Facial Synkinesis. This is defined as an involuntary twitching or contraction of a muscle that takes place when another muscle is stimulated. Its cause has thought to be the growing back or twigging of nerve branches in the wrong place after trauma. The nerves tend to stimulate muscles they are not intended to stimulate. One of the symptoms of this condition is the tearing of one eye when another facial muscle is being used. For instance, the tearing can be triggered by the movement of the mouth during eating.

These facial disorders are fairly common and they are generally temporary. In some cases, they can be the result of what appears to be permanent damage to nerves and do not respond to treatment at all. One of the major side effects of facial synkinesis is emotional distress. The distortion of facial muscles is viewed as grotesque at best.

Acupuncture for facial synkinesis is often attempted. As in many conditions, there is a shortage of reliable clinical studies addressing the effectiveness of acupuncture as a treatment for any facial nerve disorder. This is true even though this is a possible area for the resolution of some conflict on the general effectiveness of acupuncture in general. Western Medical Practitioners tend to see the nerves as serving the purpose that practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine attribute to the Meridian Channels of the body. The success rate of acupuncture treatments for nerve related disorders such as facial synkinesis would be very interesting indeed.