Can electroacupuncture cure facial neuritis?

  Facial neuritis, also known as facial palsy, is an infectious disease of the facial nerve. The edema and exudation of the facial nerve pathway leads to the decrease of nerve conduction function, causing the main manifestation of facial expression muscle dysfunction. It is a common disease in China.  Neuroelectrophysiology reveals that electrical excitation can be detected in the process of neuromuscular innervation by instruments, which is the principle of electromyography. For the facial nerve, there are also neuroelectrogram, nerve excitation test (NET), and maximum stimulation test (MST), which are used to detect the electrical excitation activity of the facial nerve locally in the muscles innervated by the facial nerve, and to detect the electrical excitation functional state of the facial nerve by giving electrical stimulation to the facial expression muscles. Another important reference indicator of facial nerve function is the F-wave of the facial nerve, which is generated based on an important property of nerve conduction – bidirectional conduction, in which a suprathreshold stimulus applied to a muscle innervated by a motor nerve will produce excitation along the stimulation point and conduct to both the central and muscle ends. The presence of the F wave also provides a theoretical basis for the electroacupuncture treatment of facial nerve conduction disorders. It is entirely scientific and possible to give an electrical stimulus at the periphery of the motor nerve to improve the nerve conduction disorder through the regulation of the current intensity. The facial nerve maximum stimulation test mentioned earlier is in fact a single manifestation of electrical stimulation therapy.  Based on the functional characteristics of neuromuscular anatomy, we use electroacupuncture to give electrical stimulation to each part of the muscles innervated by the facial nerve separately, adjust the current intensity, stimulate and unblock the part of the nerve conduction resistance that becomes high, restore the sensitivity of nerve conduction, and improve the nerve function to the maximum extent, which is the basis of our clinical treatment. Our proposed evaluation of electrical response to facial neuritis is also the mechanism of the maximal stimulation test.