Bells Palsy

[HeatherMassages]

Hello,

Can anyone give me any advice about massaging a client with Bell's Palsy? Would you do it? What do you suggest in terms of massage methods? Thanks in advance!

[pueppi]

I can't give you any massage protocols, but I have had two clients over the years with Bell's Palsy, and acupuncture was the best route for both of them. Your client may be different.

One client used acupuncture with massage (her request). I don't feel like the massage did much - but I know her visits to the acupuncturist did wonders and fairly rapidly.

The other client utilized chiropractic and acupuncture. I think there was a better result with this combination.

Of course, this is a personal opinion as to what I saw with only two clients.


10/14/08: edited for typo

[Dragonflies]

Acupuncture or face reflexology would have my vote.

[JasonE]

Is this client under medical care? There are some very effective medications that may help.

Aside from that, acupuncture may help. There are no direct contraindications against massage, so you can treat them like anyone else.

[riversinger]

Nothing to add, other than to be aware the Bells Palsy is often related to Lyme, so if your client doesn't know how this occurred, than you may want to suggest a doctor appt is made for Lyme, or other tick borne co-infection testing!

Getting some form of treatment for it can be crucial as these illnesses can affect the body in many different ways, from hitting the heart to the brain, or the joints, as well as the digestive tract, etc.

[cstbrian]

CranioSacral can be very effective for addressing this condition. It helps to approach this from a nervous system perspective.

[pueppi]

CranioSacral can be very effective for addressing this condition. It helps to approach this from a nervous system perspective.

Thanks for the info cstbrian!

[zenjen]

For what it's worth... I've had Bell's Palsy twice.
Both times I had 95% recovery within a month.

Here is a blog I kept about my most recent experience with Bell's Palsy...
detailed treatment approaches outlined and a bit of me whining too.
bellspalsyexperience dot blogspot dot com

I did self massage, mostly vigorous tui na and hitting up points on my face throughout the days, but I believe aggressive acupuncture treatments is what really helped with the most recent recovery. Massage around my jaw seemed to help a lot with distracting from the nerve pain.
I sort of just stopped updating the blog when I got better. 100% recovered within 4 weeks this last time.


Good luck
and
Peace

[Vita]

I had a client with Bell's Palsy. I used superficial Lymphatic Drainage on the head and neck and then did articulation work on the skull. I believe I did some Cranialsacral in the session as it creates a beautiful, easy transition of the Lymphatic Drainage techniques. I did two sessions in a 4 day period with significant change after each session. Two days after the second session all paralysis was gone. The M.D. was shocked and so was I! This is the first time I have used LDT on this specific diagnosis. I didn't know what to expect and am not sure if such dramatic results are the normal effect of LDT in this situation. But I do love Lymphatic Drainage and in this case it appeared to be an effective way to support the healing process.

[crystal_compass]

I second what RiverSinger posted. Very important to get to a Lyme Literate physician. Bells Palsy is a result of cranial nerve involvement which Lyme loves to attack...Lyme and other tick borne infections aggravate the Central Nervous System in a big way...not just joint issues.

[Ratfink]

Hi. I had a client years ago with bells palsy and after a few minutes of massaging the affected areas, showed him how to administer self massage on a daily basis. Within a week he reported a complete recovery from his symptoms.