It’s already been over four months since I started going to a Korean medicine clinic regularly from mid-January last year and received treatment for facial asymmetry. I’m in my late 20s and usually a salaried worker who sits at a desk for a very long time (lots of overtime). Today I have nothing to do, so I’m writing this out of boredom lol. It’s not at a level where I’m completely satisfied yet, but I’m posting in case there’s anyone interested in treatment for facial asymmetry ^^; I’ll write the main text in the concise casual style.
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1. Condition before starting treatment In my early 20s I got braces, which gave me straight teeth, and I also took good care of them, so my bite and teeth alignment were fine. Even when I had a neutral expression in daily life, other people didn’t really notice that my face was asymmetrical, but whenever I took a photo, I was bothered by how strangely the outer corner of my right eye was much more raised than the left, and the corner of my mouth was drooping a lot, so I visited the Korean medicine clinic. (For reference, when I asked people around me, they said that the asymmetry stands out more in photos; a lot of people don’t notice any asymmetry in my actual face.) After examining me, they said my pelvis was twisted, my leg lengths were different, and there was a slight problem with my jaw joint. After taking photos (they just took them on an iPad.. it was winter, and I was photographed in my everyday clothes, so even then I was half skeptical;;), I was recommended Chuna therapy. I started Chuna therapy from that day. Up to May 15, I had gone in every single week after work without missing once.
2. Treatment sequence Hot compress > physical therapy > cupping > electroacupuncture > Chuna therapy > ultrasound therapy The hot compress is exactly what it sounds like. They put on a heat pack and loosened up my lower back. Physical therapy used electrical stimulation to loosen up painful areas like my shoulders or lower back, and after about 5 minutes of cupping, the doctor came and inserted needles. The needles were placed while I was lying face down, from the back of the neck to the shoulders and lower back. It was bearable. It would be a lie to say it didn’t hurt at all, but it only felt sore when the needles went in. When they applied electrical stimulation, I could feel my cheeks or cheekbones twitching. I didn’t time the electroacupuncture sessions, but it felt like about 10 to 15 minutes. For Chuna therapy, I lay face down on a chair that moved around the lower back area. The doctor adjusted my bones. Every place they touched hurt, and there were cracking sounds. When they taped my lower back and neck, the Chuna treatment was over. Ultrasound therapy is a treatment where, when you stand on a rubber platform, vibrations are transmitted through the body at the ultrasound frequency. They didn’t do it every time. They said to do it only in weeks when my shoulders or lower back felt especially bad. The total treatment time seems to have been anywhere from 45 minutes on the short side to 1 hour 15 minutes on the long side.
3. Treatment progress For the first two months, I wondered whether I was just wasting money because I couldn’t tell what had changed. Now, after four months, there are roughly three major differences from early January: ① The lower back pain is gone ② The center line of my face is clearly less crooked than it was in January. (Compared in photos) ③ It’s not exactly something I’d call a dimple, and it’s not really a wrinkle either;; I’ll call it a dimple, but the long dimple that used to be only on the right side of my face has also appeared on the left.
4. Current condition and future treatment plan I’m not fully satisfied with the original goals for the visit, which were lowering the outer corner of the eyes and correcting the asymmetry of the mouth. However, my whole face does seem to have become more naturally soft and centered. People don’t know what I did. They just think I lost weight. (I didn’t.) So far it seems okay. If people ask whether I lost weight, I don’t lie about it; I just say I’ve been going to a Korean medicine clinic. According to the doctor at the clinic, if I do thread-acupuncture treatment (meaning the acupuncture-based method, not inserting threads into the face), the facial muscles will improve much more. I was told it’s originally the kind of treatment used for facial paralysis. Since the pelvic asymmetry has been almost resolved, I understand that I’ll only be continuing Chuna therapy through this month.
5. Korean medicine clinic information and cost It’s a clinic with several branches nationwide. Lifeㅁㄹ Korean Medicine Clinic The cost is also written on the website, so I’m not sure whether writing it here is meaningful, but for all the treatments listed above, I paid 33,000 won each time I went. I understand that because it was evening treatment, the fee was a little higher.
* * * That’s it~ If you have any questions, leave them in the comments and I’ll answer based on my own experience lol