The Treatment of Bell's Palsy with Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine

Bell's Palsy is a disorder causing paralysis on one side of the face and, for people experiencing it, can be extremely traumatic. Happily, like most forms of facial paralysis, it is something which acupuncturists treat often and extremely well. 

There have been many studies corroborating this type of intervention, not to mention thousands of years of experience. Here are a few of the interesting studies:

Research/Articles

 A large study found that concentrated acupuncture treatments for Bell's Palsy led to faster and more complete results on nerve function and muscle recovery for those suffering from the ailment. The study, which can be read about here reported that a:

... recent study compared the use of strong acupuncture to weak acupuncture for the treatment of Bell's palsy, a nerve disorder that affects muscle movement in the face. 

Patients who had intense stimulation through acupuncture regained more muscle movement of the face, reduced disability and improved quality of life.

Those who had stronger intensity acupuncture experienced even greater therapeutic effects.

The researchers evaluated progress using the House-Brackman scale and the Facial Disability Index. Assessment of progress was taken at the beginning of the study and six months later.The House-Brackman scale is based on a six-point scale in which one point indicates normal function and six points indicates complete paralysis. The Facial Disability Index asks questions to measure disability and health-related quality of life. Scores at the beginning of the study before acupuncture were similar for both groups. At follow-up, facial-nerve function, disability and quality of life were better in the group receiving strong acupuncture than in the group receiving weak acupuncture.

Almost 90 percent of the group receiving strong acupuncture made a complete recovery, compared to almost 71 percent in the group receiving weak acupuncture.

• The National Institute of Health (NIH) published a 'best evidence topic' paper compiling the research from many other studies on Bell's Palsy and acupuncture. The paper concluded that,

. . . two methods of acupuncture [studied] were associated with significant improvements . . .

• The Chinese Medical Journal published a study of acupuncture for Bell's Palsy comparing it with the use of prednisone and found that the acupuncture group recovered substantially faster than the prednisone-treated population. (readable here).

Headline Announces, 'Acupuncture Relieves Gynecologic Surgery Pain'

While hardly surprising to anyone in the field or any of our patients who have used acupuncture for post-operative pain it did give sense of pride that two Western medical journals such as Anesthesiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology would publish such favorable studies of acupuncture. You can read about it here.

Acupuncture reduces post-operative pain following gynecologic and abdominal surgeries. A new study published in the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology concludes that, “Pain control after hospital discharge is suboptimal for many women after both vaginal and abdominal surgery.” The researchers add that there is a need to improve post-operative at-home pain control measures, “Given increasingly rapid hospital discharge….” Acupuncture helps to improve recovery times and improves at-home pain control.

In Anesthesiology, The Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists, research concludes that, “Pre-operative insertion of intradermal (acupuncture) needles reduces postoperative pain, the analgesic requirement, and opioid-related side effects after both upper and lower abdominal surgery. Acupuncture analgesia also reduces the activation of the sympathoadrenal system that normally accompanies surgery.” In another study published in Pain, the Journal of the International Association for the Study of Pain, researchers conclude that, “Our findings demonstrates that preoperative treatment with low-EA (electroacupuncture) and high-EA (electroacupuncture) can reduce postoperative analgesic requirements and associated side effects in patients undergoing lower abdominal surgery.” In yet another study published in the BJA, British Journal of Anaesthesia, researchers conclude that, “Perioperative acupuncture may be a useful adjunct for acute postoperative pain management.” The researchers also note that acupuncture reduced opioid side-effects including nausea, dizziness, sedation, pruritus and urinary retention.

IVF Drugs (potentially) Linked to Leukemia in Children

The British newspaper, The Telegraph, published a slightly alarmist article whose headline screams about a link between fertility drugs and childhood cancer. However the body of the article is a bit more accurate than the headline, as it reveals the still tenuous nature of that link. The story is about new French research which does suggest that there may be an increase in the likelihood of such leukemia among the children of women using such pharmaceuticals but goes on to say that even if this is proven as a risk factor that the actual increase is relatively small. 

. . . French researchers will tell a conference in London today they believe there is an association between the use of ovarian stimulation drugs and two types of childhood leukaemia.

Specifically, they have calculated that their use is associated with a 2.6-fold increase in the risk of developing the most common form of childhood leukaemia, called acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), and a 2.3-fold increase in the risk of developing a rarer type, called acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

However, French researchers will tell a conference in London today they believe there is an association between the use of ovarian stimulation drugs and two types of childhood leukaemia.Specifically, they have calculated that their use is associated with a 2.6-fold increase in the risk of developing the most common form of childhood leukaemia, called acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), and a 2.3-fold increase in the risk of developing a rarer type, called acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

From the perspective of acupuncture and Chinese medicine, as well as the fertility work that we do at the Northside Holistic Center, this is quite interesting and wouldn't be too surprising. We counsel our patients to carefully research fertility drugs before using them and encourage them to solely use our methods before resorting to the more drastic Western interventions which may have future negative ramifications. However we also understand that there is a place for such drugs either when time is a factor or when more conservative, natural interventions alone have not been enough. In that case, we work with the client to minimize any damage that these powerful drugs may be causing in her body.

Chinese Medicine Treats Both Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis

Both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis respond very well to Chinese medicine – acupuncture and herbal therapy. Crohn's disease is an autoimmune disease which involves chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The main symptoms of Crohn's disease are abdominal pain, fever, fatigue and persistent, watery diarrhea. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and can come and go with periods of flare-ups.

Articles and Research

• In a study published in the journal, Digestion, acupuncture was found effective for treating Crohn'sdisease.

In this German study, 51 patients with mild to moderately active Crohn's disease had a decrease in disease activity after receiving 10 sessions of acupuncture. Study members also showed an improvement in general well-being and reported an improvement in quality of life.

Source: Joos S, Brinkhaus B, Maluche C, Maupai N, Kohnen R, Kraehmer N, Hahn EG, Schuppan D. Acupuncture andmoxibustion in the treatment of active Crohn's disease: a randomized controlled study. Digestion. 2004;69(3):131-9.

Reprinted from Gather.com

• A Chinese herbal formula containing Ku Shen (Radix Sophorae flavescentis) has been shown to be as effective as the anti-inflammatory drug mesalamine for treating ulcerative colitis (UC). The study, published in a Chinese medical journal (readable here). This herb is often included in formula for bothUC and Crohn's, though we individualize herbal therapy and acupuncture for the patient.

Hepatic Fibrosis Treated with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbology

Recent experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of acupuncture combined with a specific Chinese herb, curcumin, in treating fibrosis of the liver. In the study (which you can read about here) the researchers concluded that, 

Acupuncture combined with curcumin potently protected the liver from… injury and fibrogenesis.” This was confirmed with laboratory measurements of serum aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, hyaluronic acid, laminin and procollagen 3. Other histological findings and measurements of alpha smooth muscle actin, extracellular matrix, fibronection and alpha 1 collagen confirm the synergistic hepatoprotective effects of acupuncture combined with curcumin.