Effective Treatment For Trigal Neuralgia

Trigeminal neuralgia, or TGN, is a disorder that causes intense face pain radiating from the trigeminal nerve. It has been labeled the suicide disease because of its reputation of being one of the, if not the, most painful conditions known to man. Although it is not easily controlled, new research is finding that chiropractic care may be able to treat this debilitating disease. 



TGN is traditionally treated through medications such as lidocaine, duloxetine and various opiates. If medication does not help, than surgical therapy is recommended. However, surgery can leave the face numb in certain areas and pain may begin to resurface after time. This may suggest that the root of the pain is caused by the sensory nucleus in the brainstem. 




Causes


More often than not, the pain is triggered by something seemingly small and every-day, and generally relates to movement, touching or temperature.  Speaking, chewing, brushing teeth, putting on makeup can cause a flare up, as can a cool breeze or a hot cup of coffee.



Symptoms


Trigeminal Neuralgia (TN) is characterized by mild to severe facial pain.  The pain is usually sudden and feels something like an electric shock..  The pain usually lasts several seconds and will come and go for days, or sometimes weeks.  A sufferer may experience this intermittent pain for days, weeks or months, only to have it disappear for months or even years, only to return again.  As the condition progresses, episodes become longer, and pain more and more piercing.



Chiropractic Treatment For Neuralgia


Many people, when they think of Chiropractors, think all they can help with is adjustment of the back.  But there are many different conditions that a chiropractor can help you with that you might not expect.  One of these is Trigeminal Neuralgia.  Yes, it’s a mouthful.  And co-incidentally, it causes a great deal of pain in certain areas of the face – including the mouth.



A chiropractor will gently release the upper cervical spine, jaw and bones of the skull to reduce pressure on the Trigeminal Nerve.  Dry needling and ultrasound therapy may also be used or address some of the associated symptoms such as inflammation and pain.



In the initial stages of the condition applying heat or cold packs to the painful area may reduce the pain of the symptoms.  However, it is important to treat the cause as soon as possible, as prolonged pressure on the nerve can cause irreversible damage.




Anticonvulsant medication may be prescribed.  In extreme cases surgery may be required, however this may result in permanent numbness in parts of the face.



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