CHAN Io Wai
Objective To systematically review the clinical research
progress in the treatment of Bell's palsy (idiopathic facial paralysis) with
acupuncture and related therapies over the past five years, evaluate their
efficacy, and identify the limitations of current studies as well as future
research directions. Methods By
searching for relevant Chinese clinical research literature published between
2019 and 2024, we summarized and reviewed the clinical efficacy, protocol
characteristics, and combined applications of various acupuncture therapies for
Bell's palsy. These therapies included acupuncture treatment,Electroacupuncture
therapy, cupping therapy, acupoint application therapy, acupoint injection
therapy, acupoint catgut embedding treatment, fire acupuncture, Fu's
subcutaneous needling, and moxibustion (grain-sized moxibustion,
ginger-partitioned moxibustion, warm needling moxibustion, etc). Results Most clinical studies indicate
that acupuncture and its combination therapies (such as acupuncture combined
with medication, acupuncture with cupping or electroacupuncture, etc.) are
significantly superior to conventional Western medicine alone in improving
facial nerve function (e.g., House-Brackmann score, Sunnybrook score),
increasing the overall effective rate, and reducing the incidence of sequelae
in patients with Bell's palsy. Different acupuncture therapies have distinct
characteristics: for example, dense-disperse wave electroacupuncture may be
more effective in reducing inflammation during the acute phase; acupoint catgut
embedding provides sustained stimulation for refractory facial paralysis; Fu's
subcutaneous needling combined with muscle reperfusion training helps improve
local blood supply and function; and moxibustion Methods such as grain-sized moxibustion, ginger-partitioned
moxibustion, and warm needling moxibustion show significant efficacy for
specific syndrome types. Conclusion Acupuncture is an effective and versatile clinical approach for treating Bell's
palsy, and its combined use demonstrates a trend toward synergistic or additive
effects. In the future, it is necessary to conduct more rigorously designed,
large-sample, multicenter randomized controlled trials, further explore its
mechanisms of action, and strive to establish standardized treatment protocols
along with Objective efficacy
evaluation systems, in order to provide higher-level evidence-based medical
evidence.
