Efficacy of Electro Acupuncture in Bell’s Palsy – A Clinical Interventional Pilot Trial in Indian Patients

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Bell’s palsy is an acute peripheral facial neuropathy and is the most common cause of lower motor neuron facial palsy. Various treatment modalities including steroids, physiotherapy, antivirals have been described. We aimed to study the efficacy of electroacupuncture to modify and improve the muscle paralyses. Material and methods: The first twenty patients who were willing for the study were selected. Fourteen sittings of thirty minutes each were done with one chun silver needles and stimulation was electrical and the intensity was adjusted for de qi feeling for the patients. House-Brackmann Classification of Facial Function was used to categorize the patients before and after treatment. Improvement in the score of more than 1 was termed significant relief. Results: Out of the twenty patients 17 had significant improvement of power and three had mild improvement. Three patients had minimal bleeding in a few points which stopped with simple pressure. Watering of the eye stopped in all the cases. The majority of patients were satisfied according to partha patient satisfaction score. Conclusion: To conclude, electroacupuncture has a significant role in early paralytic phase of Bells palsy without many side effects.