A case study focusing on Bell’s Palsy and chiropractic care was published on Monday (September 19, 2022). Bell’s Palsy, also known as, Facial Nerve Palsy is a disorder that commonly leaves half of one’s face droopy (Figure 1) and has several potential triggers (1). This case was particularly unique in that the patient presented with facial pain as well, which is not a typical symptom of Bell’s Palsy. The patient presented to the treating chiropractor with a 3 year history of non-radiating neck pain and facial weakness and pain (1). Her symptoms started a few days after cleaning her molars with a toothpick. The patient then sought treatment from her primary care medical doctor, a dentist, and even a Chinese medicine practitioner. Following treatments of prednisone, herbal medicine, and several acupuncture sessions, the patient reported her symptoms improving by 60% initially throughout the first year, but noted what she felt was a plateau during the following two years, which led her to the chiropractor’s clinic (1).
The patient then had three visits of chiropractic adjustments to her neck as well as mechanical traction targeting her neck. After the first week, the patient reported her pain levels had decreased from a 4/10 to a 2/10 (1). She also noted she was able to talk again without flaring up her jaw pain. The patient was seen once a week for the following three weeks and continued receiving adjustments as well as the traction. A month after treatment, the patient was followed up with and filled out a post-care questionnaire and noted 98% improvement and revealed her facial, jaw, and neck pain were completely gone and the only lingering symptoms were slight droopiness in her eye on the affected side and a mild inability to make all facial gestures (1).
This case study is the 13th one published that has shown improvement of Bell’s Palsy with chiropractic care (1). Although this was not purely a classical case, the doctors involved also suspected some trigeminal nerve palsy in addition to Bell’s Palsy. The patient still recovered after other methods of care plateaued progress for the patient. This study serves as an example of how chiropractic can help people who have exhausted all options for their ailments, despite there not being an abundance of evidence available.
Sources
Chu, E. C., Trager, R. J., & Chen, A. T. (2022). Concurrent Bell's Palsy and Facial Pain Improving with Multimodal Chiropractic Therapy: A Case Report and Literature Review. The American journal of case reports, 23, e937511. https://doi.org/10.12659/AJCR.937511
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