Bells palsy should not cause any other part of the body to become paralyzed, weak or numb. If any other areas are affected Bell's palsy is not the cause of the symptoms, and further testing must be done.

It is possible to have bilateral Bells palsy, but it's rare, accounting for less than 1% of cases. With bilateral facial palsy, it's important to rule out all other possible diagnoses with thorough diagnostic tests.

Bells palsy is a condition that causes the facial muscles to weaken or become paralyzed. It's caused by trauma to the 7th cranial nerve, and is not permanent.

The percentage of left or right side cases is approximately equal, and remains equal for recurrences.

The condition is named for Sir Charles Bell, a Scottish surgeon who studied the nerve and its innervation of the facial muscles 200 years ago.

Bells palsy is not as uncommon as is generally believed. Worldwide statistics set the frequency at approximately .02% of the population (with geographical variations). In human terms this is 1 of every 5000 people, and 40,000 Americans every year.

No, it is not contagious. People with Bells palsy can return to work and resume normal activity as soon as they feel up to it.

Approximately 50% of Bells palsy patients will have essentially complete recoveries in a short time. Another 35% will have good recoveries in less than a year. Regardless of the trigger, Bell's palsy is best described as an event - trauma to the nerve. As with any other injury, healing follows. The quality and duration of recovery is dependent on the severity of the initial injury.

Very quickly. Most people either wake up to find they have Bells palsy, or have symptoms such as a dry eye or tingling around their lips that progress to classic Bell's palsy during that same day. Occasionally symptoms may take a few days to be recognizable as Bells palsy. The degree of paralysis should peak within several days of onset - never in longer than 2 weeks (3 weeks maximum for Ramsey Hunt syndrome).

The possibility of recurrence had been thought to be as high as 10 - 20%. These figures have been lowered as more has been learned about conditions that are now diagnosed as other types of facial palsies. Estimates of the rate of recurrence still vary widely, from around 4 - 14%. Most recent reports hover at 5 - 9%. The average timespan between recurrences is 10 years.

Older people are more likely to be afflicted, but children are not immune to it. Children tend to recover well. Diabetics are more than 4 times more likely to develop Bells palsy than the general population. The last trimester of pregnancy is considered to be a time of increased risk for Bell's palsy. Conditions that compromise the immune system such as HIV or sarcoidosis increase the odds of facial paralysis occurring and recurring.

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RLS usually involves the lower limbs. RLS is rarely reported in other parts of the body. We would welcome such patients for evaluation. Venous reflux is a common medical condition that affects about 40-60 million in the US. Thus the possibility of finding RLS consequent to venous reflux is much higher than anything else. Once it is established that your RLS is due to venous reflux, we can treat it appropriately.

Orthopedic surgery is performed both in the lower extremity (feet, legs, and hips) and the upper extremity (hand, forearm and elbow) for patients with cerebral palsy. This portion of the site will focus on upper extremity (UE) surgery for patients with cerebral palsy (CP). Since there are no known ways to operate on the brain to make cerebral palsy (CP) better, orthopedic surgery can help to "rebalance" muscles that are getting inappropriate signals from the brain.

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Your therapist will discuss the desired outcome of your session with you. This will determine which parts of your body require massage. A typical full body session will include work on your back, arms, legs, feet, hands, head, neck, and shoulders. You will never be touched on or near your genitals (male or female) or breasts (female).

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The cause of Bell's palsy is not clear. Experts believe some cases may be linked to the herpes virus that causes cold sores.1 In most cases of Bell's palsy, the nerve that controls muscles on either side of the face is damaged by inflammation. Many health problems can cause weakness or paralysis of the face. If a specific reason cannot be found for the weakness, the condition is called Bell's palsy.

Your doctor may diagnose Bell's palsy by asking you questions, such as about how your symptoms developed. He or she will also give you a physical and neurological exam to check facial nerve function and rule out more serious causes of facial paralysis.

It is temporary weakening or paralysis of the facial muscles due to trauma to the 7th cranial nerve. This cranial nerve runs from the nape of your neck through a sheath underneath your ear (and elsewhere in your ear) and then spreads out over that half of your face to activate your expressions.

Although the word "palsy" frightened the life out of me when it was first mentioned, it purely means "a paralysis", and we knew we had that anyway. Bell is Sir Charles Bell, a Scottish surgeon, anatomist, physiologist and artist. He was born in 1774, served as a surgeon at the battle of Waterloo in 1815 and found this condition through his extensive surgical and anatomical research - apparently with a donkey !!!

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