Clinical effect and safety of thread embedding acupuncture on facial nerve palsy sequelae: A retrospective observational study

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical effect and safety of thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) in patients with facial nerve palsy sequelae. This was a retrospective observational study on 82 patients treated with TEA from January 2021 to May 2022. The Facial Disability Index (FDI) reported by patients and Sunnybrook Facial Grading System scores assessed by clinical practitioners were used to evaluate the intensity of facial movements, functional problems, and psychosocial status. One-way repeated measure analysis of variance showed that the Sunnybrook Facial Grading System scores improved significantly following the 2nd to 6th TEA treatments (Txs). FDI scores also showed significant increases except for the 4th Tx. Additionally, the physical scores improved significantly among the subscales of FDI, but the social/well-being scores did not. There were no reported serious adverse events or adverse events requiring medical Tx. TEA is a safe Tx that has a clinically cumulative effect, in terms of patient-oriented self-assessment of functional problems and objective facial movements, for treating facial nerve palsy sequelae.

Improvement of Facial Paralysis after Parotidectomy with Integrated Korean Medicine Treatment: A Case Report

“…HST, which involves inhaling vapors from an herbal medicine and applying them to the skin or respiratory tract, has been reported to be effective in treating the symptoms of FP [14]. TEA treatment has some effects to relieve stiffness and contractures of the facial muscles [5]. Physiotherapy is performed to increase blood flow to damaged tissues and promote recovery [15].…”

“…In integrated Korean medicine (IKM), acupuncture, moxibustion, herbal medicine, and thread embedding acupuncture (TEA) treatment are used to treat FP [4,5]. Although several studies have investigated the treatment of Bell's palsy in patients with FP, to our knowledge, no case reports have focused on IKM for FNT following facial nerve injury caused by parotid surgery (PS).…”

Avanços terapêuticos das sequelas da paralisia facial e seu impacto sobre a autoimagem

“…Recentemente, os estudos vêm analisando a utilização de técnicas de neuroimagem para auxiliar na acupuntura, como tomografia por emissão de pósitrons, estimulação magnética transcraniana e eletroencefalograma. No entanto, ainda são necessários estudos para elucidar os resultados dessa técnica nas sequelas da paralisia facial (Ko et al, 2023).…”