Is moxibustion useful in treating facial spasms?

The involuntary muscle twitching is actually what is called spasm in medicine. In real life, there are many situations where our human body will experience spasms, such as facial muscles. Of course, if left untreated, this symptom will not cause the risk of death, but it will have a great impact on the quality of life and will greatly reduce personal image. So, is moxibustion useful in treating facial spasms?

Hemifacial spasm is a common clinical disease, equivalent to hemifacial myositis in modern medicine. Its onset may be related to wind-cold, viral infection and autonomic nervous instability. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is caused by insufficient body's positive energy, greed for coolness and exposure to wind, which leads to the invasion of evil wind, resulting in the obstruction of qi and blood in the face, malnutrition of blood vessels, ischemia of facial nerve and paralysis. It manifests as sudden on-side crooked mouth and squinting eyes after the facial expression muscles on the affected side are affected, the eyes cannot be closed, tears, drooping or pain behind the ears, enlarged palpebral fissures, disappearance of forehead wrinkles or inability to frown, close eyes, show teeth, puff cheeks or whistle, etc. When diagnosing and treating this disease, it was found that in addition to conventional treatment, comprehensive treatments such as moxibustion, acupressure and facial massage are ideal for shortening the course of the disease and improving symptoms.

Acupoints for moxibustion: Yangbai, Taiyang, Qianzheng, Dicang, Yifeng, Fengchi, Zusanli.

Make moxa into a cone-shaped moxa stick the size of half a small peanut, with a round tip and a flat bottom. Place 2-3 mm thick slices of garlic or ginger (the latter should be pierced with multiple small holes using a toothpick). Use 13-15 sticks per acupoint, 1-2 times a day.

Press the acupoints: Press the above acupoints with the index and middle fingers of both hands at the same time, from light to heavy, and then from heavy to light, in a clockwise direction for 3 to 5 minutes, 2 to 3 times a day.

Massage the face: After rubbing the palms together to warm them up, move the hands from the lower part of the face to the upper part to the forehead, then spread them to the sides to the temples, the roots of the ears, and brush the cheeks down to the mouth and chin, 60 to 100 times each time. Move gently until the local heat feels comfortable.