Trigeminal Neuralgia Condition Massage Treatments



Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) causes sudden, severe facial nerve pain. The pain can last from just a few seconds to two minutes each time and attacks can follow in quick succession. An episode of multiple attacks could last for several hours. Symptoms usually gradually increase and worsen over time. In most cases it only affects one side of the face (unilateral), more commonly the right side. Rarely, people with trigeminal neuralgia have pain on both sides of their face (bilateral). The pain is often described as an electric shock, or a stabbing or piercing pain.

Historically TN was commonly known as the “suicide disease” because of the numbers taking their own lives because of the pain in the days before there were any effective treatments. Trigeminal neuralgia is considered to be among “the most excruciatingly painful conditions known to medical practice.” The trigeminal nerve is one of 12 pairs of nerves known as the cranial nerves. The trigeminal nerve is the fifth and largest of these. While damage to or pressure on this nerve does not change the appearance of the face, this is the nerve whose job it is to allow us to feel touch, temperature, and pain in the face. There are three branches to this nerve: the ophthalmic branch, which carries sensation to the forehead, scalp, and front of the head; the maxillary branch, which serves the ear, eye, cheek, and nose; and lastly the mandibular branch, whose job it is to carry sensation to the jawline, chin, and lips.

TN occurs when the trigeminal nerve “misfires.” It is thought that this misfiring occurs owing to damage in the nerve’s protective myelin sheath. The myelin sheath can be damaged by pressure from blood vessels (veins or arteries), multiple sclerosis (MS), injury to the nerve, or simply as part of the ageing process. In a small number of cases, the cause may be a tumor or a benign growth pressing on the nerve. The medical world divides TN into three categories: type one with the standard symptoms as described above, where there is no known cause; type two, where the pain is more consistent but is more of an aching, throbbing, or burning (atypical trigeminal neuralgia); and symptomatic trigeminal neuralgia, where the problems occur as a result of an underlying cause, such as MS.

Recommended Treatments

Begin the massage by warming up the head, shoulders, and neck. With the client faceup, begin by stroking down the neck and across the top of the shoulders to allow the client to relax while being touched in massage. With your hands at the top of the shoulders glide upward, stroking up the back of neck in slow, rhythmic, and gentle movements, with constant feedback from the client. Note that at home massage London we say it's best to leave professionals do the job. Ask the client to turn the head to one side and work with slow, gentle circles with two or three fingers down the side of the neck, working down and backward and out across the top of the shoulders.

Hold the trapezius muscles at the top of the shoulder in a gentle squeeze. Repeat on the other side and always get feedback from your client. The final stage of the warm-up is to stretch the back of the neck and begin to work on the muscles at the base of the skull. Curl your fingers underneath the skull and pull gently upward—this will work on both the semispinalis and trapezius muscles as they attach into the head, and will stretch the neck, helping to release tension in these muscles.
Locația: London, UK

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