Narrative Review of the Association between Cervical Region Treatment and Facial Paralysis

Facial nerve palsy refers to sudden, unilateral lower motor neuron facial paralysis. This study aimed to determine the importance of neck treatment in the treatment of facial paralysis. A literature search was performed on six online databases and other sources until January 15, 2023. A total of 426 papers were retrieved. After excluding duplicated and inconsistent papers, papers not including cervical treatment, and experimental papers on animals, two papers were finally selected. The type of treatment method, therapeutic effects, assessment of the risk of bias in randomized controlled trials, and non-randomized controlled trials and side effects were evaluated. Chiropractic, manual therapy, facial meridian massage, and acupotomy were applied to the face and cervical spine region. The results showed that each treatment had a significant therapeutic effect through evaluation index measurement methods, such as the visual analog scale and Yanagihara's unweighted regional grading system. This study demonstrated the importance of the cervical spine area in the treatment of facial paralysis. However, this study has many limitations. Thus, high-quality randomized controlled comparative studies on the treatment of the cervical spine area only or studies that include cervical spine area treatment as an interventional treatment while performing oriental or comprehensive treatment are needed.