ACTIVITY 4
The 28-year-old male patient’s condition, Bell’s Palsy, caused some of his facial muscles to weaken. The five (5) muscles that are affected by his condition are as follows:
- Frontalis
Action: draws scalp anteriorly, raises eyebrows, and wrinkles skin of forehead horizontally.
- Orbicularis oculi
Action: closing the eyes (blinking)
- Levator labii superioris
Action: Raises upper lip
- Orbicularis Oris
Action: Closes and protrudes lips; compresses lips against teeth; shapes lips during speech.
- Mentalis
Action: Elevates and protrudes lower lip and pulls kin of chin up.
Bell’s Palsy is a disorder of the facial or the 7th cranial nerve, which is the nerve that controls the movement of the muscles in the face. Due to this damage or inflammation of the facial nerve, it results in temporary weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles. However, in some cases, paralysis of the facial muscle can lead to permanent nerve degeneration.
Moreover, these are some of the other symptoms that the patient might exhibit as a result of facial muscle weakness:
- Pain around the jaw or in or behind the ear (on the affected side/left side)
- Increased sensitivity to sound (on the affected side/left side)
- Headache
- Loss of taste
- Changes in the amount of tears and saliva produced
- Dry eyes
- Difficulty eating/drinking
- Muscle twitches in the face