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I am in need of Trigeminal Neuralgia Treatment

Trigeminal Neuralgia Treatments

Trigeminal Neuralgia is a chronic and severe pain condition that affects one or more branches of the trigeminal nerve. Sensations from your face and scalp are carried by this nerve to your brain. With Trigeminal Neuralgia the pain is almost always excruciating, and it can get worse over time.

At the Sydney Headache and Migraine Clinic, we have treated countless patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia with impressive results. Our expert headache clinicians expect to observe improvement within the first 5 treatment consultations. Plus the groundbreaking techniques we use to treat trigeminal neuralgia are medication-free, surgery-free and non-invasive!

Book a consultation with us today.

Understanding your Headache

Trigeminal Neuralgia Symptoms

With Trigeminal Neuralgia, attacks may last anywhere from a fraction of a second, up to 2 minutes and occasionally longer. Additionally, the attacks may present as either shock-like, stabbing, shooting or sharp pain on one side of the face.

The frequency of attacks can be anything from 1 to 50 attacks per day. The facial pain is almost always severe in nature and may become more severe over time. Sufferers of trigeminal neuralgia pain may also experience tearing or redness in the eye on the same side as the pain.

Sufferers of Trigeminal Neuralgia are often extremely hypersensitive and report that even slight stimuli can cause painful attacks, sometimes lasting as little as seconds, or as long as minutes. Stimuli such as:

• Touching the face

• Brushing teeth

• Chewing, or even

• Speaking

Typically, the condition is more common in women (60%) than men (40%) and is more likely to occur in people aged over 50 years old.

Chronic Daily Headache - Sydney Headache & Migraine Clinic

Understanding Your Headache

What is the cause of Trigeminal Neuralgia?

Since Trigeminal Nerves are one of the largest nerves supplying the face and head, Trigeminal Neuralgia can have many causes. A common theme among many Trigeminal Neuralgia sufferers is that they have a sensitised brainstem.

A sensitised brainstem will perceive nonthreatening stimuli (such as brushing your teeth) from the Trigeminal Nerve as a potential threat and will react, creating debilitating pain where the sensory information was originally detected. This hyperexcitability of the pain sensation is due to the heightened arousal and sensitive brainstem. A sensitive brainstem will relay the sensory information to the brain, but will heighten the sensation so that the brain perceives the information as painful.

Normal daily activities, such as touching the head or face, can become “triggers” that transmit pain signals to the brain.

 

How is Trigeminal Neuralgia Diagnosed?

Trigeminal neuralgia is typically identified through a comprehensive assessment involving medical history, physical examination, and sometimes imaging tests. Healthcare providers inquire about the nature and triggers of facial pain, conduct a thorough physical examination to check for sensory abnormalities or muscle weakness in the face, and may order imaging tests like MRI to rule out other potential causes. Additionally, response to certain medications commonly used for trigeminal neuralgia, such as anticonvulsants, can provide further diagnostic insight. Through this process, healthcare professionals aim to accurately diagnose trigeminal neuralgia and tailor treatment strategies to alleviate symptoms effectively.

About The Assessment Stage

What To Expect During The Assessment


1. Comprehensive and in-depth examination

We instigate an in-depth assessment to identify all possible related factors that could be causing your headaches or migraines. The upper cervical spine, in particular, is thoroughly examined to identify possible issues.



2. Ligamental stability and vertebral arterial tests

We undertake careful examination of neck ligaments and vertebral arteries, ensuring only the highest standards of patient safety and comfort.


3. Temporarily reproduce your headache and migraine symptoms

As a part of the treatment process, we apply gentle and selective stress to the upper cervical spine in order to reproduce headache symptoms, which subside after 20-30 seconds. This helps to identify and treat the cause of your headaches.

Types of Trigeminal Neuralgia

Classical Trigeminal Neuralgia (Primary Trigeminal Neuralgia)

This subcategory of Trigeminal Neuralgia refers to a patient that develops the disorder without apparent cause, apart from neurovascular compression. This means that the nerve itself has become damaged as a direct result of compression from the vascular system i.e. the veins and arteries. This normally happens at the site of the trigeminal nerve root, in the brainstem.

Classical Trigeminal Neuralgia can further be split into “Purely Paroxysmal” and “with Concomitant Continuous Pain” with the former being associated with pain-free periods between attacks, and the latter being associated with more mild pain between attacks.

Atypical Trigeminal Neuralgia

This subtype of trigeminal neuralgia presents with facial pain that is less severe and more constant compared to classic TN. The pain is often described as dull, aching, burning, or stabbing and may involve multiple branches of the trigeminal nerve.

Secondary Trigeminal Neuralgia

This subcategory of Trigeminal Neuralgia refers to a patient that develops the disorder as a result of an underlying disease.

Recognized causes are Multiple Sclerosis, a tumour in the cerebellopontine angle, or arteriovenous malformation.

Trigeminal Neuropathic Pain (TNP)

Trigeminal neuropathic pain is a broader term that encompasses various chronic facial pain syndromes resulting from damage or dysfunction of the trigeminal nerve. It may include conditions such as postherpetic neuralgia (resulting from shingles), traumatic neuropathy (due to facial trauma), or other neuropathic pain disorders affecting the trigeminal nerve.

Idiopathic Trigeminal Neuralgia

This subcategory of Trigeminal Neuralgia refers to a patient that experiences symptoms consistent with Trigeminal Neuralgia, however, they demonstrate no obvious abnormalities via electrophysiological tests or MRIs. Much like Classical Trigeminal Neuralgia, this diagnosis may suggest pathology of the brainstem.

Trigeminal Neuralgia may also be split into “Purely Paroxysmal” and “with Concomitant Continuous Pain”  with the former being associated with pain-free periods between attacks, and the latter, associated with more mild pain between attacks. Persistent idiopathic facial pain in between severe attacks is seen in around half of all Trigeminal Neuralgia sufferers.

It is not uncommon for Trigeminal Neuralgia sufferers to go undiagnosed for long periods of time or even misdiagnosed, as the symptoms presented can be similar to those of Migraine Headaches, or Cluster Headaches.

I’ve already tried everything! What else can be done to help my Trigeminal Neuralgia?

Treating your Trigeminal Neuralgia

Over-the-counter pain relief medication, strong anticonvulsant/antispasmodic medications, Botox injections and even surgical procedures are some of the ways in which Trigeminal Neuralgia sufferers have attempted to rid themselves of the painful attacks. In some cases, these medical and surgical treatments can alleviate the symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia. Certain surgical treatment of trigeminal neuralgia, such as microvascular decompression can also carry a risk of potentially serious complications such as  facial numbness, hearing loss, stroke, and even death. Despite all of these treatment options, sufferers may still find themselves having painful attacks, this is sometimes referred to as refractory trigeminal neuralgia.

If you suffer from Trigeminal Neuralgia, or if you think it sounds like your symptoms and medication has given you no significant relief, then we believe that you should have a thorough examination of your neck and brainstem in order to investigate the CAUSE of your symptoms

At the Sydney Headache and Migraine Clinic, we have seen countless Trigeminal Neuralgia sufferers and use world-class techniques in identifying whether the neck and brainstem are at fault. A thorough examination of the upper cervical spine is initiated to determine the severity of your sensitised brainstem.

Once treatment commences we expect a significant improvement to occur rapidly in 90% of our patients with Trigeminal Neuralgia and within the first 5 treatment consultations.

The best part about our methodology in treating trigeminal neuralgia is that it is medication-free, surgery-free and non-invasive.

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