Melbourne Medical Acupuncture Clinic in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | Medical and health

Melbourne Medical Acupuncture Clinic

Locality: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Phone: +61 3 9114 2876

Address: Level 6, 766 Elizabeth St 3000 Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.melbournemac.com.au/

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31.01.2022 Bell’s palsy https://www.melbournemac.com.au/productinfo/319786.html Overview... Facial nerve palsy is characterised with loss of function of one side of facial muscles. The underlying cause can be viral infection or autoimmune. Treatment options In idiopathy facial nerve palsy, short course of steroid is the mainstream management. Antiviral medications are also used. However, the evidence for both methods is controversial. Fortunately, many cases make a complete recovery within 6-12 weeks. However, there are some patients who suffer chronic facial muscle paralysis. Acupuncture Acupuncture has been used in various nervous system conditions, including facial nerve palsy. The effect is very promising. Treatment objective The objectives are different at different stages. We aim complete or near complete recovery at early stage (2 weeks to 3 months). Near complete recovery is still achievable at the stage between 3-6 months. At chronic stage i.e. over 6 months, any recovery is challenging, but specific acupuncture technique can still help. Treatment protocol The initial plan is 6 weekly sessions. Patients who have less than 6 months of the condition should see significant improve or even complete recovery. In patients who are in chronic phase, the improvement may happen as late as the 4th treatment. Tolerability and risk Acupuncture is a well-tolerated safe treatment. Patients experience pain less than intra-muscular injection and blood tests. However, patients may experience acupuncture-specific sensation, De Qi, which might feel like vague tingling and lasts seconds. N.B. In some patients, a technique with strong stimulation may be used. Local anaesthesia can be offered, but the injection fo anaesthesia agent may cause more discomfort compared to needling. Fee 1st - 4th treatment - $250 5th & 6th treatment - $200 Medicare rebate - $105.55 x 6 = 633.30 Total out-of-pocket cost $766.70 * Patients may be eligible to get higher rebate if Extended Medicare Safety Net (EMSN) threshold is met. The total out-of-pocket cost may be as low as $154. Please contact Medicare regarding EMSN. Clinical trial Persistent facial nerve palsy is a challenging condition, and it significantly impacts on the quality of life. The acupuncture treatment is widely used in the early stage of the condition, but the experience on persistent paralysis is lacking. We would like to recruit 5 patients who had the condition over 6 months with multiple muscle group involvement to participate in our stage 1 trail(non-randomized). The treatments are bulk billed, without any out-of-pocket cost.