| Abstract/Notes |
Trigeminal neuralgia, sometimes called tic douloureux, is characterised by episodes of electric-shock-like pain in areas of the face where branches of the trigeminal nerve are distributed. Medical treatment includes pharmaceuticals, analgesics, surgery, radiosurgery, low-powered lasers, TENS, acupuncture and biofeedback. Manipulative approaches have been used successfully in a medical centre in China, and reports of successful treatment with chiropractic techniques have been published. The patient in this report had a history of right-sided facial pain, diagnosed as trigeminal neuralgia, over a 6-year period with remissions after dental or medical treatment and exacerbations, the most recent of 2 months duration. Prior to cranial and other chiropractic adjustments, the patient had continuous pain that she rated at 9.5 on the visual analogue scale, and after 4 consultations over an 11-day period, pain had reduced to 0.5. Spinal and cranial adjusting potentially affects a wide range of causes of trigeminal neuralgia and offers a conservative, low-cost, low-technology initial approach which, if ineffective, will not greatly delay or inhibit other treatment. Occasional maintenance care may be required in some instances to reduce occurrences. This abstract is reproduced with the permission of the publisher; full text (print only) by subscription.
|
