Today, I want to talk to you about a condition called Bell’s palsy.

Bell’s palsy, or facial palsy, basically means that half of the face stops working. The facial muscles are not taught and not working as they should. Therefore, if someone with Bell’s palsy smiles, half of their mouth droops, one of the cheeks do not rise, one eyebrow stays low and the eyelid does, too. That is the motor aspect of Bell’s palsy. The sensory aspect of it usually includes taste changes, the lacrimal gland of the eye not producing tears like it should, and the salivary gland of the mouth not producing saliva like it should. We end up with dry eyes, dry mouth, and half of our face not working as it should. Why does this happen?

We know in science and basic neurology that the facial nerve controls all of the stuff I just mentioned. The facial nerve, which comes off of the brainstem, innervates multiple parts of the face, including part of the eye, cheek, and mouth. If there is interference to that facial nerve at the level of the brainstem, we basically get abnormal messages from the brain to the facial nerve and back (aka Bell’s palsy).

What can we do as upper cervical doctors to help with this? If you have a misalignment at the top of the neck, which surrounds the brainstem, it could very well be interfering with the messages between the brainstem and the rest of the body, including this facial nerve. All we have to do is locate and correct that misalignment to take the pressure off the brainstem, allowing the facial nerve to receive the proper input from the nervous system. Thus, we see the Bell’s palsy go away. We adjust a bone in the neck, taking pressure off the brainstem, and now the face muscles start to work properly. The taste comes back, and so do the tears and saliva.

That is what we do as upper cervical doctors. Unfortunately, conventional care does not really have a solution. They do not know why this facial paralysis or Bell’s palsy occurs. They throw some drugs at you, and if it persists for a long time, eventually they may just cut the facial nerve, which is definitely something we want to try to avoid. Why not try to heal from the inside-out with upper cervical care that frees the brainstem, so the entire body can work right, helping the Bell’s palsy to clear up.