A study published in the Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine (2006;26(1):3–7) evaluated treatment outcomes in 439 patients with Bell’s palsy. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups.
The control group received conventional therapy consisting of prednisone, thiamin, vitamin B12, and dibazol. A second group was treated with acupuncture and moxibustion, a technique that involves stimulating acupuncture points using a heated, smoldering material called moxa. A third group received a combination of conventional therapy along with acupuncture and moxibustion.
Treatment outcomes were assessed using the House–Brackmann grading scale and standardized facial disability indexes. Patients receiving acupuncture and moxibustion alone, as well as those receiving the combined treatment, showed greater improvement on both assessment measures compared to those in the control group.
These findings suggest that acupuncture-based therapies may influence recovery outcomes in Bell’s palsy, either alone or when used alongside conventional approaches. As with many integrative therapies, additional studies would be helpful to clarify mechanisms and optimal treatment strategies.
