Good morning readers,

Today we are going to discuss a very important pathology: the trigeminal neuralgia.

Trigeminal neuralgia is a disease that causes facial crippling abrupt pain, with electric shock sensation, stabbing or being shot, felt through the long trigeminal nerve extension, it lasts for a few seconds or minutes or even hours in some cases, these episodes may occur many times in a single day.

The most affected spots are: face lower area and jaw area, next to the ears, eyes, hair, gum, teeth and lips. It is known as one of the most unbearable pains that humans can experience. It may significantly compromise  the patient’s life quality and become  extremely disabling.

Possible trigeminal neuralgia causes are:

• Vascular compression: blood vessel is pressed against the trigeminal nerve root.
• Physical damage to the nerve: through dental or surgical procedure.
• Family history: it’s a rare condition (1 to 2% of all cases).

On top of that, it may be related to:

• Multiple Sclerosis – appears in multiple sclerosis advanced cases.
• Brain tumor: tumor that presses against the trigeminal nerve.

Pain episodes may be triggered by brushing your teeth, chewing, speaking or even by touch (to the face).

How can Acupuncture help ease pain in a patient who suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia?

Research have pointed to Acupuncture as an effective method in patient pain controlling, for patients that suffer from Trigeminal Neuralgia. Long and Chen (2015), conducted an experiment in 40 patients with the said pathology, comparing Acupuncture treatment with Carbamazepine (medication) and the results showed that acupuncture efficacy was 95% against 87% from medication.

In the said experiment, were used to control pain, the following points: Tai Yang, LI4, LI7, ST7, Yintang, GV20, GB20 and ST6.

Witzel and Lusvarghi (2013),  also conducted a research on a case, 54 year old man that using 0 to 10 pain scale described his pain as 10. The said patient suffered for more than 10 years with crises that lasted 1 minute everyday. The following acupuncture points were applied TE23, SI18, ST2, ST6, ST7, Yuyao, SP6, LV3 and LI4, with needles, during 20 minutes.

Then, 6 sessions were done in consecutive days and after this period the pain lowered from 10 to 1, and from this point on, the sessions were spaced to once a week.

Besides these 2 articles, others have proved the point ST6 combined with pain spot points (Ashi) very effective on trigeminal neuralgia treatment.

In auricular acupuncture, the most effective technique belongs to French Medicine, that stimulates the reflex area of trigeminal nerve in the ear, using electroacupuncture 5Hz through 20 minutes for immediate analgesia. The reflex trigeminal area is located in all shell region, upper and lower of the ear.

However, in Auriculotherapy, muscle relaxation, analgesia, jaw and maxilla points may be stimulated through spheres or auricular needles, offering positive results.

Just like in other pathologies, Trigeminal Neuralgia must be studied in depth by acupuncturist in order to comprove even further it’s positive results and efficiency. Nevertheless, it’s a known truth that its results, based on already existing literature, are excellent and must be used on those who suffer with this kind of pain

I hope that you liked it and I hope that you succeed treating your patients!

My warmest regards!

Profa. Fernanda Mara

Bibliographic References: 

• Base text available in: https://portalsbn.org/portal/neuralgia-do-trigemeo-nt-o-que-e-sintomas-causas-e-alternativas-de-tratamento/
• Scientific article: https://www.acupunturadratamara.com.br/post/acupuntura-reduz-a-dor-da-neuralgia-do-trigemeo#:~:text=Uma%20investiga%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20recente%20descobriu%20que,distribui%C3%A7%C3%A3o%20do%20nervo%20craniano%20V.

Scientific article: https://repositorio.usp.br/item/002676434