Acupuncture Benefits Bell's Palsy Patients

Acupuncture was found to improve the facial muscle recovery, reduced disability in patients with Bell's palsy, say researchers.

Bell palsy is sudden onset of facial paralysis that is usually temporary, resolving within weeks or months, although it can sometimes be permanent.

Bell's Palsy - Anatomy, Causes, Incidence and Prevalence, Symptoms
Bell's palsy is facial nerve disorder that causes weakness of the muscles on one side of the face. Its cause is unknown but most people make a full recovery within 8 to 12 weeks.

Acupuncture is used to treat a variety of conditions and is gaining acceptance worldwide. De qi is a combination of sensations stimulated by manipulation of acupuncture needles - soreness, tingling, coolness, warmth and others radiating at the insertion points - but has not been validated by randomized controlled trials.

"There is a long-held belief in the traditional theory and clinical practice of acupuncture that the intensity of the stimulus must reach a threshold to elicit de qi, which plays a pivotal role in achieving the best therapeutic effects," wrote Dr. Wei Wang, Department of Neurology, Key Laboratory of Neurological Diseases of Chinese Ministry of Education, Wuhan, Hubei, China, with coauthors.

In a randomized controlled trial with 338 patients, Chinese researchers sought to understand the efficacy of acupuncture with weak stimulation or strong (de qi) stimulation.

The trial, conducted at 11 tertiary hospitals in China, involved 15 experienced acupuncturists who administered acupuncture to the de qi group (167 people), which received intense stimulation, and the control group (171 people), which received needles but no stimulation.

Patients' facial expressions, a marker of facial-nerve function, were rated on a 6-point scale and videotaped to ensure consistent findings across hospital sites.

Acupuncture and Progress In People With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Appear To Be Linked
Acupuncture seems to be linked with progress of dyspnoea (laboured breathing) on exertion, in people with COPD, as per results from a small clinical trial.

Six months after randomization, facial-nerve function, disability and quality of life were better in patients in the de qi group than in the control group.

"We found evidence that acupuncture with de qi improved facial muscle recovery, disability and quality of life among patients with Bell palsy. Stronger intensity of de qi was associated with better therapeutic effects," the researchers said.

NHS Could Save �100,000 a Year by Offering Acupuncture as Alternative to Knee Surgery for Osteoarthritis
A new study involving over 90 patients suffering from knee osteoarthritis has found acupuncture to be an effective low cost alternative to knee surgery.

"De qi and its related techniques should be properly appreciated in acupuncture practice and research, and should be considered for inclusion in clinical guidelines for acupuncture," they concluded.

The trial results were published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Source-ANI