Severe facial pain can turn enjoyable activities like eating or talking into painful episodes. Fortunately, upper cervical spinal care can help reduce the craniocervical junction (CCJ) misalignments to help set the stage for your body to recover from facial pain and pain associated with certain TMJ issues. Because of the misalignment, there is a potential for an alteration in the blood and cerebral spinal fluid to and from the brain. Upper Cervical care has been shown to have the potential to improve this situation.
Symptoms
Your facial pain may be dull and constant or it may feel like it is burning. Some people even feel an intermittent electrical shock sensation in their face.This condition can be extremely disabling. The pain can last for seconds to minutes, and episodes can extend for days, weeks or months. Virtually anything that stimulates the affected area can trigger the pain, such as talking, brushing teeth, or feeling a vibration. Sufferers sometimes also experience a sense of “brain fog” – a feeling of fullness in the head that they cannot clear.
In respect to TMJ syndrome, a specific type of facial pain, discomfort is often localized along the jaw. If you have an issue with your jaw joint, you may hear a popping or clicking sound when you open your mouth. Chewing or fully opening your mouth may set off intense pain, which typically involves only one side of the jaw, but can affect both. You may also notice a change in how your upper and lower teeth fit together.
Causes
Sometimes a misalignment in the upper neck area can add stress to the nerves running to your jaw resulting in inflammation preventing the jaw from moving appropriately. A second possibility is that there could be a misalignment in your upper neck and TMJ issue simultaneously. In this situation, your upper cervical chiropractor may need to work with a TMJ specialist to assist in your recovery.
A condition called chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) results in insufficient drainage of cerebral blood flow leaving the brain. When this develops, it makes it more difficult for the fresh blood to enter the head. The end result is a reduction of blood going to and from the brain. This process helps explain patients describing a feeling of fullness and pressure in the head. Some also report brain fog.
Research has shown that alterations of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) into and out of the brain can be caused by a misalignment of the upper neck. These misalignments are most often caused by a previous injury to the head or neck, such as a car accident, sports injury, slip, or fall. Symptoms may not appear until 10 to 15 years later–or longer.
Treatments
Upper cervical chiropractic care corrects the spinal misalignments that can disrupt blood and CSF flow to and from the brain. For facial pain sufferers, this care can help reduce the stress and irritation to the facial nerves. For those who live with TMJ pain, this treatment has the potential to provide lasting relief by reducing the upper neck misalignment and improving TMJ-related biomechanics that may have been disrupted by the effects of a past head and neck injury.
THRIVE Head & Spinal Care offers this gentle and precise care. It involves no twisting, cracking, or popping of the neck. Instead, we apply math, physics, and engineering principles to determine the correction you need to restore your normal position and function of your upper cervical spine and nervous system. We use pre- and post-correction tests to ensure that your nervous system function has improved and your body has the best opportunity to heal.
Don’t let severe facial pain disrupt your life or fill it with despair. Let us help ease your suffering. Our mission is to provide the highest quality of upper cervical care in San Antonio, TX. Dr. Dutson sees you as a person, not as a condition. He has a vision to do healthcare differently… to put the ‘care’ back in healthcare. He wants to help you enjoy your life to the fullest and THRIVE. Schedule your appointment today.