A Case Report of Peripheral Facial Nerve Palsy in a Patient with Spinal Stenosis Hospitalized at a Korean Medicine Hospital and Treated with Korean Medicine

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of using Korean medical treatment for peripheral facial nerve palsy.Methods: We primarily treated the patient’s peripheral facial nerve palsy during hospitalization (06/28/21~07/13/21) without any other steroids or antiviral drug treatments and additionally treated their spinal stenosis, using Korean medical treatments in both cases (herbal medicine, acupuncture, and herbal acupuncture therapy). The House-Brackmann grading system and Yanagihara’s unweighted grading system were used to assess facial symptom changes, and the Numerical Rating Scale was used to evaluate the back pain caused by the spinal stenosis.Results: Following treatment, the patient’s House-Brackmann and Numerical Rating Scale scores decreased, while their Yanagihara unweighted score improved.Conclusions: This study suggests that Korean medicine may be effective in the treatment of facial nerve palsy.