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Why does my face hurt? Trigeminal neuralgia, facial pain and temporomandibular joint
The connection between the upper neck and facial pain or numbness, or what is known as trigeminal neuralgia or tic doulereaux, has been studied for many years. Facial pain can be excruciating, according to patient reports. This is one of the most common reasons why depression and suicide are common with this debilitating condition. When a person suffers a head or neck injury, such as a car accident or a fall, the process can begin. But long-term compression on the upper neck, such as during oral surgery or extensive dental work, can also be the triggering factor. Often the trauma may have occurred months, years or even decades earlier! The body's ability to adapt is...
Why does my face hurt? Trigeminal neuralgia, facial pain and temporomandibular joint
The connection between the upper neck and facial pain or numbness, or what is known as trigeminal neuralgia or tic doulereaux, has been studied for many years. Facial pain can be excruciating, according to patient reports. This is one of the most common reasons why depression and suicide are common with this debilitating condition.
When a person suffers a head or neck injury, such as a car accident or a fall, the process can begin. But long-term compression on the upper neck, such as during oral surgery or extensive dental work, can also be the triggering factor. Often the trauma may have occurred months, years or even decades earlier! The body's ability to adapt is phenomenal. But the adaptation process only takes so long and eventually symptoms develop. The symptoms that develop are individual.
The research is very encouraging for pain sufferers. In a study, Dr. Hinson examined the effects of specific chiropractic care of the upper cervical spine on 10 patients diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia. After just 10 weeks, pain measurements dropped by 77%! Dr. Hinson also found that depression scores decreased and a decrease in pain distribution was noted in all patients. Of the 10 patients in the study, 3 of the 10 had no more attacks at the end of 10 weeks and the other 7 had far fewer.
I have also seen big changes in my own office with Face Pain. A patient who suffered excruciating pain following a dental procedure on the right side of her face, head and neck found help through the NUCCA procedure after trying acupuncture, medication, general chiropractic manipulation and many other treatments. We saw a 90% reduction in all symptoms in 8 weeks.
Another patient, who is 6 months pregnant and had almost all of her teeth on the side of her face removed by 5 different dentists, began treatment 3 weeks ago and initially found that her symptoms briefly worsened. But as she began to adjust, she began sleeping through the night for the first time in 18 months. Now that it lasts even longer, it goes for days without pain and overall the pain has significantly reduced. With continued care I would expect her progress to continue.
If you know someone who is struggling with facial pain or numbness or has been diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, an upper cervical spine exam should be performed to determine whether head or neck trauma could be the underlying cause.
Inspired by Dr Bill Davis