What is Trigeminal Neuralgia?
Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a type of chronic pain that affects your face. This condition causes sharp and sudden burning pain. It usually affects one side of the face, but in rare circumstances, it can affect both sides at the same time. TN can affect anyone of any age but it usually affects people over 50, especially women.
The trigeminal nerve is one of the pairs of nerves that are attached to the brain. The nerve has three branches that conduct sensations in different areas including the upper, middle, and lower portions of the face, as well as the oral cavity, to the brain. More than one nerve branch can be affected by the disorder.
What Are The Causes Of Trigeminal Neuralgia?
TN is linked to a variety of other medical conditions. Trigeminal neuralgia can be caused by the following:
- Compression: A blood vessel compresses the trigeminal nerve. This compression causes the protective coating around the nerve to experience wear and tear.
- Multiple Sclerosis: TN symptoms can also occur in people with multiple sclerosis, a disease that causes deterioration of the trigeminal nerve’s protective coating.
- Tumor: Nerve compression from a tumor, or a tangle of arteries and veins called an arteriovenous malformation, can cause TN.
- Injury: Damage to the trigeminal nerve by sinus surgery, oral surgery, stroke, or facial trauma may also produce chronic facial pain.
What Are The Signs And Symptoms Of Trigeminal Neuralgia?
- Different types of pain: TN pain is characterized by constant spontaneous, severe, and stabbing pain in your head. Any vibration on your face, even fundamental tasks like brushing your teeth or talking, can trigger a TN headache. The pain may affect a small area of the face or may spread throughout it. The stabs of pain rarely occur at night, when the affected individual is sleeping.
- Gradual symptoms: The condition appears and disappears for days or even months, but the condition can be progressive. TN pain can worsen over long periods of time, with less frequent and shorter pain-free periods before they happen again. Eventually, in some cases, these no-pain periods of time disappear and medication to alleviate the pain becomes less effective. This disorder is not fatal but can truly affect your lifestyle. Due to the intensity of the pain, some individuals may avoid daily functions or social gatherings because they fear an impairing attack. TN can completely disable an individual once the medication does not work.
What Are Treatment Options For Trigeminal Neuralgia?
Depending on the severity of your pain, there are several different treatments available for TN including, but not limited to:
- Medication Management: There are different types of medication available to block nerve firing.
- Surgery: Depending on the nature of the pain, various surgical procedures are available to treat TN.
MVM Health in Pennsylvania is proud to specialize in the following treatment options:
- Trigeminal Nerve Block
- Botox Injections
- Sphenopalatine Ganglion (SPG) Block: This is an injection of numbing medicine. It is delivered to the area around a bundle of nerves called the Sphenopalatine Ganglion, which lies deep within your face. The Sphenopalatine Ganglion (SPG) is a group of nerve cells that is linked to the trigeminal nerve, the main nerve involved in headaches. This injection can be used to diagnose or treat problems associated with these nerves.
- Trigeminal Nerve Radiofrequency Ablation: A hand-held device is positioned so that the nerve area is gradually heated, injuring the nerve fibers and blocking their ability to send pain signals.
Looking for Pain Relief?
If you are living with chronic pain and find that it is affecting your enjoyment of day-to-day life, it may be time to seek treatment and pain management. MVM Health: Pain, Vein, and Wellness services LeHigh Valley, Scranton, Wilkes Barre, and surrounding communities. Reach out to us today to request an appointment. The experts at MVM Health would be glad to offer guidance and a variety of treatment methods for chronic pain. Call 570-445-2200 to request an appointment.