Bell's Palsy Helped by Chiropractic

A case study published on September 19, 2022, documented the resolution of Bell’s Palsy with chiropractic care. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke defines this condition by saying, "Bell's palsy, also known as idiopathic facial palsy, is a form of temporary facial paralysis or weakness on one side of the face."

Bell’s Palsy usually only affects one side of the face. It results from dysfunction of the 7th cranial nerve, known as the facial nerve. Problems with this nerve can create issues with facial expressions, blinking, eye tearing, and taste from the tongue. This condition is most common among people between the ages of 15 and 45 years and affects approximately 40,000 Americans each year.

In this case, a 52-year-old woman went to the chiropractor because she had been suffering with neck pain and a variety of other symptoms for the previous 3 years. She said the pain was constant and rated it as 4 out of 10, with 10 being the worst. The problems started after she had been cleaning her teeth with a toothpick. Over the next few days, she experienced numbness and pain over the left side of her face and started to experience ringing in her ears. Her face pain continued to get worse and was aggravated by talking.

Her problem created issues with her being able to drink causing her to spill liquid when attempting to do so. She found it difficult to make facial expressions and had difficulty with raising her left eyelid and eyebrow, as well as fully closing the left eye. For the first year of her condition, the woman went to a Chinese medicine practitioner who used herbal medicine and acupuncture. These reportedly gave her 60% relief. However, over the following two years before starting chiropractic, she did not see any further improvement.

The woman was finally referred to a chiropractor by a friend. After an examination, chiropractic care was started at the rate of three visits per week. The results after only the first week of chiropractic were that the woman reported a decrease in her pain down to 2 out of 10. She also reported that she could now talk without an increase in jaw pain.

After one month of chiropractic care, the woman had improved 98%, with her only residual being mild left eyelid drooping when making certain facial expressions. The woman’s face pain, neck pain, and other symptoms were completely gone, and her facial movements were normal.

In the study conclusion the authors wrote, "Patients with Bell’s palsy may also develop symptoms of trigeminal neuropathy. The current case as well as those previously published suggest that these patients may respond to chiropractic ..."