Facial nerve self-healing

[Amz569]

Just wondering about the massage. Who did it? You or therapist? If therapist, what specialty? I live in Canada and haven't received much advice in terms of exercises or therapies to try on my face.

[mar]

Just wondering about the massage. Who did it? You or therapist? If therapist, what specialty? I live in Canada and haven't received much advice in terms of exercises or therapies to try on my face.

Both myself and my therapist did facial massage. When I began to see improvements, I went in for once a week facial massage, and self-massage two to three times a day. Since then I have stopped seeing this therapist and have continued with self massage once a day.

Unfortunately, physical therapists who specialize in vestibular therapy and facial function are not common. They're out there, though.

Personally I just called every physical therapy center in my city until I found someone who specializes in the type of physical therapy I need. Unfortunately, there are only three people in my city who do PT work for facial palsy and none of them take my insurance. I pay out of pocket to see PT since last May.

As a general update, my facial function is now rated at 94/100 and I no longer required PT for my face. Most people cannot tell that I have anything wrong with my face, though I do still have some asymmetry. I am just over two years out from surgery at this point. I do have other issues relating to the AN but those mostly concern headaches and occipital neuralgia. I also have facial pain sometimes because the muscles on my right side jaw and tense up for no reason. These things, according to my PT and surgeons, are totally normal. After 7 months of seeing no movement whatsoever, these are not terrible problems to have.

[Sanderson]

Your post has given me hope! Thank you!

[JLR]

I know it was very difficult to find a facial therapist. But finally did. Slight very slight improvement   I'm going to try massage next. Do you have a website for the massage instructions?  Thanks much, Joan

[marvin65]

MAR,  THANK you for your post.  How does accupuncture help with reduce keloid formation .  I m 10 months post  translab. I am not sure but it seems theres a portion with keloid. I am applying silicone gel. I will try silicone sheet if it helps. Just too hot right now to try sheet. but I have never heard about acupuncture helping keloid. I have keloid growing up , since teen years. I am now in my 50's.

[mar]

I know it was very difficult to find a facial therapist. But finally did. Slight very slight improvement   I'm going to try massage next. Do you have a website for the massage instructions?  Thanks much, Joan

I found the exact map given to me by my therapist on pinterest: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/05/29/a8/0529a868922fa8eadc8ea119d9237963.jpg

To do the massage I highly recommend seeing a therapist who can help you, but if you truly do not have one available, using your facial lotion and using medium to light pressure, rub it into your affected side by tracing the nerves with your opposite side hand's fingertips. If you come to a narrow area like the side of your nose, use 1 or 2 fingers, and for a broad area like the cheek or forehead, use three fingertips. Go slowly as possible and get a feel for how your muscles react.

If you come to a spot where you feel pain, simply hold your fingers there for a few seconds or until the pain diminishes. Do not press too hard. It isn't more effective with higher pressure. If your face starts to get puffy or red you are pressing too hard.

Another small thing that helps is to try to eat mostly with your paralyzed side of your face. If you can still swallow and move your jaw it gives your muscles a chance to move.

MAR,  THANK you for your post.  How does accupuncture help with reduce keloid formation .  I m 10 months post  translab. I am not sure but it seems theres a portion with keloid. I am applying silicone gel. I will try silicone sheet if it helps. Just too hot right now to try sheet. but I have never heard about acupuncture helping keloid. I have keloid growing up , since teen years. I am now in my 50's.

Acupuncture did not stop keloid formation for me. I have a large scar going down the back of my neck and a smaller scar behind my ear. Due to the surgical site being on the back of my head (rs), it is hidden by my hair and glasses.

As an aside, if you have questions you would like to ask me, you can send me a private message. I get alerts to my email account when I get a private message and can respond more quickly.

[Bre]

Just wanted to keep this post current. It’s hard to find good info, especially by folks going thru it. I just had surgery on 12/11/20. I’m one month in and just starting facial therapy this week (consisting of about 8 exercises 5x a day to try to trigger reactions in front of a mirror). My pt told me stim therapy was not an option (they try not to use that anymore) as they’ve determined it’s better to have your nerves trigger on memories and movement than faking/forcing it. I will start cranial massage therapy in 2 weeks (my scar isn’t quite healed enough). I start balance therapy in 2 weeks. I was wondering about acupuncture and trying to find info on that and came across this post. I’ve been getting a little down bc of progress so this really helped me understand this isn’t happening in a couple weeks or even months. This is a long term healing solution and I need to be patient so thanks to all who had posted!! Good luck to all and keep the faith and positive vibes. It WILL happen.

[SueLL]

Bre - I hope you have made some progress in these past months since your post.  I agree that some older posts are hard to dig up but hold a wealth of information.  When I signed up for the forum 7 years ago there wasn't as much available on the web, so member communication was vital.

[schomiczewski]

I would like to thank you for sharing such detailed notes and showing the patients we need to have for progress with the facial nerve. I am three weeks postop and really appreciate seeing someone in their story. Thank you.