Trigeminal Neuralgia is described as one of the most severe pains known to man. It is a disorder of the trigeminal nerve that produces sudden, excruciating bouts of facial pain. This pain typically strikes where the nerve branches to the nose, lips, eyes, ears, scalp, forehead, upper and lower jaw, and even the tongue. TN most often affects only one side of the face, and, over time, the pain usually increases in severity and frequency. Struggling with Trigeminal Neuralgia can experience very intense pain that is why TN is often referred to as the suicide disease.
Trigeminal neuralgia is usually caused by compression of the trigeminal nerve. This is the nerve inside the skull that transmits sensations of pain and touch from your face, teeth and mouth to your brain. The compression of the trigeminal nerve is usually caused by a nearby blood vessel pressing on part of the nerve inside the skull.
Trigeminal neuralgia can also happen when the trigeminal nerve is damaged by another medical condition, such as multiple sclerosis or a tumour. The attacks of pain are usually brought on by activities that involve lightly touching the face, such as washing, eating and brushing the teeth, but they can also be triggered by wind even a slight breeze or air conditioning or movement of the face or head. Sometimes the pain can happen without a trigger.
There are a number of treatments available that can offer some relief from the pain caused by trigeminal neuralgia. Identifying triggers and avoiding them can also help. Most people with trigeminal neuralgia will be prescribed medication to help control their pain, although surgery may be considered for the longer term in those cases where medication is ineffective or causes too many side effects.
Hot, spicy or cold food or drink may also trigger your pain, so avoiding these can help. Using a straw to drink warm or cold drinks may also help prevent the liquid coming into contact with the painful areas of your mouth. It is important to eat nourishing meals, however, so if you are having difficulty chewing, consider eating mushy foods or liquidising your meals.
Upper Cervical Chiropractic care is a very precise and non-invasive procedure that uses specific measurements in posture, autonomic balance, and anatomy to help create a gentle and lasting correction in the alignment and motion of the upper cervical spine that can be a natural Relief for TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA.
This correction improves brain to body communication allowing the body to heal which may result in reduction of spinal cord tension which relieves the irritation to the trigeminal nucleus in the upper neck and brain stem, establishes proper drainage of venous and lymphatic fluids alleviating possible blood vessel pressure on the trigeminal nerve, relaxed muscle tone reducing impingement on the branches of the trigeminal nerve and proper movement of cerebrospinal fluid reducing brain stem and blood vessel pressure.
Alternatively, your specialist may recommend having surgery to open your skull and move any blood vessels that are compressing the trigeminal nerve. Research suggests this operation offers the best results for long-term pain relief, but it's a major operation and carries a risk of potentially serious complications, such as hearing loss, facial numbness or, very rarely, a stroke.
