Bell’s palsy and strokes are neurological conditions that can lead to full or partial paralysis of your facial muscles. Bell’s palsy is usually temporary whereas strokes can often cause more long-lasting damage.
Due to the impact of these conditions, they can affect your ability to smile, blink or make any kind of facial expression. This can severely impact your confidence in addition to making it incredibly difficult to carry out everyday activities, like eating and speaking. The main thing I love about my job is helping people to feel more confident in their own skin. So, when I found out that CACI can help people with these symptoms, I was absolutely over the moon.
In this blog I want to share with you how CACI works to restore muscle function and what this means if you suffer with symptoms like this.
What is CACI?
CACI is an innovative machine that was originally developed in the early 1990s to treat conditions like Bell’s palsy. I didn’t realise this when I decided to invest in a CACI machine at the clinic, as since the late 1990s it’s had a big focus on how this technology can be used for cosmetic reasons.
The CACI machine uses microcurrent therapy to deliver small electrical impulses to your muscles. It’s often used to help with facial toning, anti-ageing and famously ‘non-surgical facelifts’.
How does CACI work?
A CACI machine delivers tiny, controlled microcurrents that mimic your body’s own electrical impulses. These currents stimulate your muscles and surrounding tissues, promoting muscle re-education, improving your blood circulation and increasing the production of collagen and elastin.
The treatment is non-invasive, painless, and some people would even call it relaxing – after all, it’s not often you can just lay there and not be doing anything! There’s no downtime with CACI either, so it’s great for those looking for gentle treatments or if you’re recovering from Bell’s palsy or a stroke.
The Effects of Bell’s Palsy and Stroke on Facial Muscles
Bell’s Palsy
Bell’s palsy is a condition where the facial nerve (the seventh cranial nerve) becomes inflamed or compressed. This usually happens on one side of your face and causes temporary paralysis on that side only. This can cause:
- Drooping of one side of your face
- The inability to close your eye full on that side
- Reduced ability to smile, frown or make any other facial expressions
- Your sense of taste to be affected
- Ear pain
- Drooling
Most people recover within three to six months, however it is possible to have longer term muscle weakness and partial paralysis.
It can be caused by viral infections but in a lot of cases, the exact cause of Bell’s palsy is unknown.
Stroke and Facial Paralysis
Strokes are caused when the blood supply to part of your brain is interrupted or reduced. This deprives your brain tissue of oxygen and nutrients. Sometimes a stroke will affect the area of the brain that controls your facial muscles and when this happens, it can result in symptoms very similar to Bell’s palsy. However, the underlying cause of a stroke is much more severe than those who suffer with Bell’s palsy. Stroke survivors can experience:
- Partial or complete loss of muscle control on one or both sides of their face
- Difficulty speaking, swallowing, or expressing emotions through facial expressions
- Long-term facial asymmetry due to muscle weakness or paralysis
The recovery process after a stroke is often very long and although physiotherapy is quite standard, treatments with CACI can help to improve facial function, which is often not the primary focus of physical therapy.
How CACI Helps with Bell’s Palsy and Stroke Rehabilitation
Muscle Re-Education
One of the key benefits of CACI is its ability to re-educate your muscles. After an event like Bell’s palsy or a stroke, the muscles may start to waste away (atrophy) or become less responsive due to their lack of use. If you’ve ever had a limb in plaster, you will probably have experienced a degree of this yourself.
CACI can help with muscle re-education by:
- Stimulating the muscle fibres that have become dormant, encouraging them to regain strength and functionality
- Improving your muscle memory by reminding the muscles how to contract and release normally
Improved Blood Circulation
CACI’s microcurrent technology also increases blood flow to the treated areas, which can:
- Enhance the oxygen and nutrient delivery to your facial tissues
- Support lymphatic drainage, which can reduce puffiness, especially around your eyes or jawline
Facial Symmetry Restoration
By targeting specific muscles on the face, CACI can be used to help restore balance and symmetry to your face.
For example, if one side of the face is drooping or weaker than the other, we can use CACI to focus on strengthening the muscles on that side, to create a more even, symmetrical appearance.
Additional Benefits of CACI for Muscle Rehabilitation
- It’s Gentle and Non-Invasive | Unlike more aggressive therapies, CACI’s microcurrent is subtle and non-invasive, which is ideal for sensitive conditions like facial paralysis.
- Enhanced Muscle Tone | Regular CACI sessions can improve muscle tone and lift, reducing the appearance of sagging or drooping caused by muscle weakness.
- Collagen and Elastin Production | The microcurrents also stimulate the production of collagen and elastin, proteins vital for skin elasticity and strength, promoting healthier skin.
- Lymphatic Drainage | Reduces swelling or puffiness, particularly around areas affected by facial paralysis.
- Pain-Free & No Downtime | The treatment is pain free and therefore a good option for long term rehabilitation. There’s also no downtime after your treatment, so it doesn’t affect your day-to-day activities.
Conclusion
CACI has been proven to be a valuable tool to help rehabilitate those with Bell’s Palsy or Stroke symptoms. Primarily in these circumstances it works by re-educating your muscles and improving circulation in the treatment area.
It’s non-invasive, pain free and requires no downtime. Offering those with a potentially life altering condition, the chance to see improvements in their symptoms and feel more confident in themselves.
If you’re ready to find out more about how CACI can support your recovery, please contact me today to book a consultation so we can discuss whether this is the right option for you and create a tailored treatment plan.
Similarly, if you know someone who struggles with any symptoms mentioned in this blog, please do forward it to them, I would love the opportunity to help them in their rehabilitation journey.
