Face pain - if you've ever had it, you know you don’t want it again!
There are many causes of face pain. For example, there is dental pain, headaches, eye,ear, nose, and sinus problems, skin infections like acne or boils, or that dreaded face pain from shingles. But today I’m going to talk about two specific causes of recurrent face pain---TMJ (Tempero-Mandibular Joint Dysfuction) and Tic Doloreaux (Trigeminal neuralgia).
TMJ and Tic Doloreaux
TMJ can be caused by repeated jaw clenching, even while asleep, and is often stress-related. It can also occur from trauma or mal-occlusion of the jaw bone. Face pain is localized to the joint of the jaw bone, a little in front of the ear, and causes chronic achiness which worsens with chewing or yawning. A fabricated dental appliance for use when sleeping often helps reduce the face pain and protects teeth from the constant grinding. Pain medications can help, but often have unwanted side-effects.
Medical Acupuncture treatment for Face Pain
Medical acupuncture, an ancient Oriental method of healing, is a safe and often extremely effective way of quickly resolving the face pain of TMJ, and without any side-effects!
Tic doloreaux, better known as trigeminal neuralgia, is a more severe form of recurrent face pain. It may have a number of causes that need to be investigated, but the pain is caused by irritation of the trigeminal nerve, which comes from the brain and goes across the side of the face. This type of pain feels like repeated bolts of lightning shooting across the side of the face or mouth. It comes on quickly, hurts a great deal, and has repeated shock-like sensations. Because of its repetitive nature, people often seek strong medicines or surgical cures. Both of these approaches are risky in terms of potential adverse effects.
Medical acupuncture often is able to control, or even cure, this severe form of face pain, and again with no side-effects.
For further information, call your local acupuncturist to discuss management of the different causes of recurrent face pain.
