The facial nerve controls the muscles of expression and emotion in the face and caries taste sensations from the front of the tongue to the brain. In facial palsy, one of the two facial nerves is damaged, compressed, or inflamed, and this results in weakness of the facial muscles, causing the eyelid and corner of the mouth to droop on one side of the face. People with facial palsy are often concerned that they have had a stroke, but this is unlikely if only the face is affected because a stroke is usually also associated with muscle weakness in other parts of the body.

Facial palsy is usually temporary, but a full recovery may take several months. The disorder affects about 1 in 4,000 people in the UK each year.

What are the causes?

The most common form of facial palsy is Bell’s palsy. This type of palsy occurs for no known reason, although a viral infection is believed to play a part.

In order types of facial palsy, there are known causes of damage to the facial nerve. These include the viral infection shingles and the bacterial infection Lyme disease. In addition, the facial nerve sometimes becomes inflamed as a result of middle-ear infection. In rare cases, the facial nerve may be compressed by a tumour called an acoustic neuroma. Facial palsy can also result from damage to the nerve from a tumour of the paroid salivary gland.

What are the symptoms?

In some cases, such as in Bell’s palsy, the symptoms of facial palsy appear suddenly over about 24 hours. In other cases, including facial palsy caused by an acoustic neuroma, symptoms may develop slowly. The symptoms include:

- Partial or complete paralysis of the muscles on one side of the face.
- Pain behind the ear on the affected side of the face.
- Drooping of the corner of the mouth, sometimes associated with drooling.
- Inability to close the eyelid on the affected side and watering of the eye.
- Impairment of taste.

If facial palsy is very severe, you may have difficulty in speaking and eating, and, occasionally, sounds may seem unnaturally loud in the ear on the affected side. If the eyelid cannot be closed, the eye may become infected, leading to ulceration of the cornea, the transparent front part of the eye. In facial palsy due to shingles, you will also have a rash of crusting blisters on your ear.

How is it diagnosed?

Your doctor will probably be able to diagnose facial palsy from your symptoms alone. A rapid onset over about 24 hours suggests Bell’s palsy. Symptoms that develop more slowly usually indicate another cause.

If your doctor suspects a tumour may be compressing the facial nerve, he or she may arrange for you to have CT scanning or MRI. Nerve and muscle electrical tests may also be arranged to assess nerve damage. If you live in a part of the UK where Lyme disease is common, you may have a blood test to look for evidence of this disorder.

What might be done?

If your symptoms have appeared in the last 48 hours, your doctor may prescribe corticosteroids for up to 2 weeks to reduce inflammation of the nerve. He or she may also recommend that you take painkillers. To prevent damage to the cornea, you may be given artificial tears, and you will probably be advised to tape the affected eye shut when you go to sleep.

Bell’s palsy usually clears up without further treatment. If facial palsy has an underlying cause, it will be treated if possible. For example, if facial palsy is due to shingles, antiviral drugs, such as aciclovir, will be prescribed. To be effective, treatment with acyclovir should begin as soon as the rash appears. If you have an acoustic neuroma, it will be removed surgically to relieve compression of the facial nerve.

If muscle paralysis persists, plastic surgery may be used to reroute another nerve to the face. Facial exercises and massage may help to maintain tone.

What is the prognosis?

With appropriate treatment, facial palsy usually improves within about 2 weeks. However, a full recovery may take up to 3 months. Some people are left with weakness, and facial palsy may recur.

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The carpal tunnel is the narrow space formed by the bones of the wrist (carpal bones) and the strong ligament that lies over them. In carpal tunnel syndrome, the median nerve, which controls some hand muscles and conveys sensation from nerve endings in part of the hand, is compressed where it passes through the tunnel. This compression causes painful tingling in the hand, wrist, and forearm. Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common disorder, especially in women aged 40-60, and often affects both hands.

What are the causes?

In some cases, the underlying cause of nerve compression is not known. In others, it occurs because the soft tissue within the carpal tunnel swell, compressing the median nerve at the wrist. Such swelling may be due to diabetes mellitus, or it may occur during pregnancy. The carpal tunnel may also be narrowed by a joint disorder, such as rheumatoid arthritis, or by a wrist fracture. The syndrome is associated with work that involves repetitive hand movements, such as typing, which can result in inflammation of the tendons in the wrist.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms mainly affect specific areas of the hand, such as thumb, the first and middle fingers, and the palm of the hand. Initially, symptoms may include:

- Burning and tingling in the hand.
- Pain in the wrist and up the forearm.

As the condition worsens, other symptoms may gradually appear including:

- Numbness of the hand.
- Weakened grip.
- Wasting of some hand muscles, particularly at the base of the thumb.

Symptoms may be more severe at night, and pain may interrupt sleep. Shaking the affected arm may temporarily relieve symptoms, but the numbness may become persistent if left untreated.

What might be done?

Your doctor may suspect carpal tunnel syndrome from your symptoms. He or she will examine your wrists and hands may tap the inside of your wrists to check if a tingling sensation occurs. Nerve conduction studies may be carried out to confirm the diagnosis. If pregnancy is the cause of carpal tunnel syndrome, the symptoms usually disappear after childbirth. In other cases, treating the cause, if it can be identified, usually relieves symptoms.

The symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome may be relieved temporarily by nonsteroidal anti-inflammaroty drugs or by wearing a wrist splint, particularly at night. In some cases, a corticosteroid injection under or around the ligament may reduce swelling. If symptoms persist or recur, you may have surgery under local anaesthesia to cut the ligament and release pressure on the nerve. After surgery, there are usually no further symptoms.

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Sciatica is a form of nerve pain that may be felt anywhere along the course of one of the sciatic nerves, the two largest nerves in the body and the main nerve in each leg. The sciatic nerves are formed from nerve roots in the lower part of the spinal cord. They run from the base of the spine down the backs of the thighs to above the knees, where they divide into branches that supply the front and back of the leg and foot. The pain of sciatica is caused by compression of or damage to the sciatic nerve, usually where it leaves the spinal cord. Many people have at least one episode of sciatica during their lives. Often, only one leg is affected. In most cases, the pain disappears gradually over about 1-2 weeks, but it may recur.

What are the causes?

Sometimes, the cause of sciatica is unknown. However, in people aged 20 to 40, the most common cause is a prolapsed or herniated disc in the spinal column that presses on a spinal nerve root. Sciatica may also develop from spondylolisthesis, in which a vertebra (bone in the spine) slips out of position. In older people, sciatica may be caused by changes in the spine as a result of various conditions, such as osteoarthritis. Women may develop sciatica during the last months of pregnancy because of posture changes that cause increased pressure on the sciatic nerve.

Muscle spasm and sitting in an awkward position for long periods of time are relatively common causes of brief episodes of sciatica in all age groups.

Less commonly, sciatica may be the result of an injection into the buttock muscles that was mistakenly given too close to one of the sciatic nerves. Rarely, a tumour on the spinal cord may press on the sciatic nerve roots.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms can be mild or severe, with spasmodic or persistent pain in the affected leg. Symptoms may include:

- Pain that is made worse by movement or by coughing.
- Tingling or numbness.
- Muscle weakness.

If sciatica is severe, you may have difficulty in lifting the foot on the affected side because of muscle weakness, and you may be unable to stand upright. Some people have difficulty in walking.

What might be done?

The doctor will examine you and test your leg reflexes, muscle strength, and sensation. You may be advised to rest in bed on a firm mattress for a couple of days and be given painkillers to relieve discomfort. If symptoms persist, you may have tests, such as MRI of the spine, to look for changes in the bones or a prolapsed disc.

Sciatica as a result of pregnancy will usually disappear after childbirth. Pain caused by muscle spasm or sitting awkwardly also tends to clear up without treatment. Occasionally, the condition can be helped by regular physiotherapy, exercise, or chiropractic treatments. However, sciatica can recur. In some cases, surgery may be necessary to relieve pressure on the nerve.

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If a few decades ago physicians still have trouble finding painkillers, then the current consumer confusion, not knowing which ones to choose before too many painkillers are sold on the market.

Point worth mentioning is that the number of drug users but no information about the effect of causing dependence to the physician named "headache syndrome for lack of painkillers", the apparent relationship between drug abuse reduce patient pain and depression, hormonal disorder, diabetes typically, in the analgesia than 10 days in a month ... still in the minority!

Non-pharmacological pain relief

Not Analgesic medication is currently not obvious lack of painkillers. But it is more difficult to avoid the side effects of drugs! Evidence that the physician group in Germany, which is seen as kilns synthetic chemical drugs, has repeatedly fans for not taking measures as needed analgesic.

This is also why many physicians party priority is applied acupuncture to treat sciatica, arthritis, trauma software, peripheral neuropathy ... instead of the little openings for specific drugs. They must decide not only because of effective therapies but also by how the customer wants: Germany 70% of the patients required treatment method is safe, as few side effects as possible. At its origin form vice versa!

Not only physicians but many patients also want to quickly swipe regardless of the long term risks and benefits. Of course no one fun to do when it comes to medical examination by physicians in many places is like torture surcharge!

Well as side effects of chemical drugs that physicians in the United States based on the results of more visible studies in recent years have encouraged patients to actively learn the physician hand.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina have demonstrated pain reduction evident after three days of sitting meditation, each day a time not more than 20 minutes. Analgesic effect not only immediate but lasting no less effective type of strong painkillers. Besides, the advantage is obvious that the meditation instead of medication not stomach, not sleepy compared to the reaction Common painkillers.

Going further, chronic headaches can be reduced by more than half the dose after four weeks of meditation. Reduce means less medication side effects and drug money.

From recorded in effective treatment of musculoskeletal system and the nervous, physicians in Europe has strongly meditation methods applied in many treatment centers recovery of cardiovascular disease, cancer patients as well as the post of the anti-stress model.

The Japanese government must have had good reason to specified driver driving long distances to meditate before departure.

Specialist in Sport at the University of Cologne sure to have a solid scientific basis to bring meditation into training programs for professional athletes.

Having a scientific basis

If you think the reason why meditation is so effective similar beliefs or a placebo (placebo) is wrong. The research results with high technical level as the temperature method (thermogram), which assessed changes in the body of meditation showed this method completely scientific basis.

Meditation expert Ulrich Ott has defeated all doubt with selling publications in the top ten groups in Germany fuer Skeptiker Meditation (Meditation for unbelievers) with objective evidence of changes in the cerebral cortex after meditation, through which not only led nerve Business comes complete that even oxygen content in brain cells also increased.

Whether they disbelief must also recognize how much the thinking function, especially memory and judgment, are clearly improved after 5-10 days of meditation.

Nothing confusing about the effects of meditation when researchers discovered endogenous endorphins are released by the pituitary gland can be 10 times normal after sitting meditation. Having enough homeowners suffer this better, sleeping better and waking up with the most is feeling optimistic love life, love people. I do have any specific medication analgesics has recently increased disease resistance as endorphins? So does meditation have lost money!

On the basis of analyzing both Professor Edzard Ernst of Exeter University have even boldly promote the meditation methods as specific drugs in humans:

• Distribution lists for fear of individuality constant
• Blood pressure fluctuations due to the sympathetic nervous system disorders
• Insomnia after trauma dependent on painkillers

Who understands the need to win as well, the other provinces. It's not too hard to meditate. Do not spend complex technical information in accordance with the teachings of the obscure to borrow money meditation. Just sit back, temporarily setting aside everything aside and focus on no more than 10 minutes respiratory movements inhale exhale was meditating. Trouble in place only if there is enough energy to start from today and continue for several days after that!

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