Bell's palsy is caused by an inflammation of one of your facial nerves, leading to a temporary paralysis of facial muscles. One side, unilateral, or both sides, bilateral, of your face can be affected. Bell's palsy is characterized by a slight droop to your mouth and eyelid on one or both sides. Physical therapy may speed recovery; your therapist or doctor may recommend facial exercises and other forms of therapy to help regain muscle movement.
Warming Up
As with other forms of exercise, it is important to warm up your facial muscles before beginning. Your face is tighter when you are cold, so a gentle massage and applying a warm cloth or warm water to your face can help limber your facial muscles. Massage also can help to reduce swelling and inflammation in your face.
Eyebrow Raises
This exercise can benefit both unilateral and bilateral Bell's palsy. Begin by sitting in front of a mirror with your face relaxed. If you have muscle control on one side of your face, raise that eyebrow. Use your index and ring fingers to gently assist the sides with limited motion, manually raising your eyebrows upward. Repeat the exercise several times, twice per day.
Smiling
Practicing your smile is an excellent exercise to speed recovery. However, AllBell'sPalsy.info recommends only performing 10 exercise smiles per day, as daily interaction with people will work the same muscles. Practice both a closed and open mouth smile, using your index finger to assist the muscles on your weak sides.
Smirking
The smirk, or the lifting of one corner of the mouth, is another way to target important facial muscles. Lift one corner of the mouth, using your finger to assist if needed, followed by the other. Repeat a few times on each side, twice per day.
Closing the Eyelid
In some cases of Bell's palsy, one or both of your eyelids may not close all the way. Look down and use the back of your index finger to gently close your eyelid. With your opposite hand, gently stretch your eyebrow up, working horizontally along the brow line. This motion will help relax your eyelid and keep it from becoming stiff. Open your eyes again and gently try to squeeze both eyelids together, using the back of your finger if needed.
