Face Pain is Different than Headache
“Head, neck and face pain are commonly encountered in the daily practice of therapeutic massage, physiotherapy and indeed medical practice. Muscles as a primary source of pain have long been recognized by massage therapists and sections of the physiotherapy and medical professions. Some of the leading workers in the field of musculoskeletal medicine, such as Vladamir Janda, Janet Travell and David Simon, have constantly brought to our attention through their clinical research the role of muscles and their associated soft tissue investments (fascia) in the etiology of many clinical syndromes.
These syndromes are often poorly managed and sometimes totally misdiagnosed because of the failure of clinicians to recognize and appreciate the significance of muscular dysfunction in the presentation of their patient’s signs and symptoms.” Andrew J. Gallagher (Australia) from The Myofascial Component of Facial Pain
If you are not a person affected by Face Pain (in other words, you or someone you know or care about suffers with this problem), you probably don’t know much about it. It’s bigger than you could have dreamed. Depending on whose research you look at, between 100 and 200 million Americans suffer with some kind of CHRONIC PAIN situation.
It’s even harder to try and pin down the numbers of people struggling with Chronic Facial Pain, but suffice it to say that somewhere between 5 and 20 million patients are dealing Chronic Severe Face Pain of one type or another. There are many reasons for Face Pain. These include…..
- DENTAL ISSUES: There are a bunch of these, and include chronic (and often hidden) infections as well as TMJ.
- TMJ / TMJD: Even though I mentioned it above, issues with the TMJ are common and can cause Chronic Facial Pain
- CHRONIC SINUS INFECTIONS: To read more, on this issue go HERE.
- MIGRAINE HEADACHES: Common. HERE.
- TRIGEMINAL NEURALGIA / TIC DELROUX: Called “Suicide Disease” because of its severity.
- OTHER KINDS OF NEURALGIA: Post Herpetic (SHINGLES) is a common one. I would try COLD LASER on any form of neuralgia.
- PSYCHOGENIC: This is the old “it’s-all-in-your-head” approach (HERE). While this is true in some cases, it is probably overused by doctors who simply don’t understand what’s going on.
The list above is by no means complete, as there are all sorts of other reasons a person could develop Face Pain. The problem could be completely neurological such as something that would be seen after a HEAD INJURY (PCS or TBI). Or it could be related to trauma to the Muscles and Fascia.
Although FASCIA is the most abundantly found connective tissue in the body, it does not get much play in the medical field as to its potential role in CHRONIC PAIN SYNDROMES. For many of you struggling with Chronic Pain, this is unfortunate indeed. Fascia is not only the most abundant connective tissue, it is also the most pain-sensitive as well.
And to make matters worse, because the Fascia in most areas of the body is cellophane-thin, it cannot be imaged with even the most technologically advanced techniques such as MRI. Add these factors together and people are automatically set up for diagnostic / therapeutic failure.
Over the years I have seen numerous cases of FASCIAL ADHESIONS in the Face. While smaller, the muscles of the face are not really different than the muscles found in the rest of the body. Furthermore, the amount of Fascia on the head is astounding (HERE).
Throw in the Cervical Fascia that is so commonly responsible for CHRONIC NECK PAIN, add to it the fact that the Fascia from all these regions is connected together, and you can see that the potential for disaster is high. Let me share a few stories with you concerning Chronic Face Pain.
I once had a patient who had suffered with Chronic Face Pain after going to a dentist to have a tooth pulled. After several negative MRI’s and other tests, this person came to see me. I used our Scar Tissue Remodeling treatment to find a Fascial Tear that ran from one corner of their mouth, to the bottom of the orbit, just below the eye. It seems that the dentist (an oral surgeon) had pulled a tooth under anesthesia. Obviously, the mouth had been forced open too far. The tear was invisible until I started working on it.
I have seen several people, including a young woman whose car was moving at over 100 miles per hour at the time of the collision, involved in severe MVA’s, where they impacted their face with the windshield, steering wheel, or even the airbag. Some of these people ended up with Scar Tissue in their orbital socket (the lip of bone around their eyeball). Some had Scar Tissue on or around their zygomatic arch. Still others had Scar Tissue and Fascial Tearing in the muscles of mastication (temporalis and masseter).
I have also seen a lot of Facial Scar Tissue due to fights and or SPORTS INJURIES. The bottom line is that any sort of trauma to the face, has the ability to leave adhesions and Scar Tissue in the Fascia. The downer for you is that these are the sorts of injuries that doctors will never figure out. If your Chronic Face Pain is the result of some sort of trauma, there may be a solution.
I recently had good results with a person who shattered their zygomatic arch several years previous to my treating them (you can read about it HERE). After a steel plate in the face was installed and everything was “healed”, this person was still having pain. The doctors blamed it on all sorts of things, including the fact that they thought that this individual was both crazy and DEPRESSED.
If this sounds like the sort of situation you have been dealing with, it might be of benefit to at least EMAIL ME A HISTORY and let me tell you what I think. If it looks like something I could help you with, I will tell you (HERE). If not, I’ll tell you that as well.
