Hi, I’ve had face pain sinse August last year but had terrible pain in my teeth 2 years previous to this which I then associated with dental problems. About 2 years ago I also had an MRI due to more constant pain in my upper spine and neck ( I’ve had spinal problems for 20 years). In my neck I have quite a badly ruptured disk that compresses my spinal cord which has also began to cause changes in my spinal cord. There’s a lot of other stuff going on There too but what I want to know is, 'is there any chance that my face pain is being cause by the damage in my neck? I haven’t seen a TN specialist yet but I am being referred.
Hi Lupa, the other day I seen a diagram relating to tilting the head and TN, here’s the link http://www.erinelster.com/ConditionsDetail.aspx?ConditionID=25
I found it whilst trying to find answers to my question. I force crack my neck often as its the only thing that’s beings relief to the pain in my neck. My nurologist has told me that under no circumstances am I to have my neck manipulatate including cracking, but it’s a little hard not to when yr in agony and that’s the one things that brings relief. I guess a general GP won’t really know enough to answer the question and I’m hoping a specialist will. Howev I’m still trying to find out if there a link with two of them.
Disc herniation in the upper cervical spine does not "cause" TN. Chiropractors who claim otherwise are full of stuff and nonsense. That said, it is known that the stretching and pulling of the spinal cord which can occur during a whiplash injury can bring the trigeminal nerve into contact with a vascular loop, and initiate either Type I or Type II TN. Cervical chiropractic is helpful for a few TN patients whose pain started in this manner.
Regards and best
Red
Hi Red, thanks for the info. Can I ask you where you got your information from to be so sure that it doesn’t have any link with TN. All I know is that as my neck got worse I developed the pain in my face.
Tina, my informatoin is based on 16 years of research as a patient advocate and webmaster on chronic facial pain sites, as well as talking in person with neurosurgeons and other mainstream practitioners, and attending national conferences of the TN Association. Herniation is a process of thinning or collapse in the material of the disc between two vertebrae. In the cervical spine, that condition can cause a lot of pain and grief with the arms and extremities. But it doesn't place pressure on the trigeminal nerve itself, which emerges from the brain stem above the spine.
Wikipedia has the following to say about the Brachial Plexus:
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The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that conducts signals from the spinal cord, which is housed in the spinal canal of the vertebral column (or spine), to the shoulder, arm and hand. These nerves originate in the fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth cervical (C5-C8), and first thoracic (T1) spinal nerves, and innervate the muscles and skin of the chest, shoulder, arm and hand. Brachial plexus injuries, or lesions, are caused by damage to those nerves.[1][2][3]
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Given the physiology of the brachial plexus, I would not see any logical connection between injuries to the lower cervical spine and face pain.
Go in peace and power,
Red
Thanks Red I’ll have a look at the Links you’ve inserted. The disk in my neck is higher up, c4. I don’t know if that makes any difference. I’m just trying to understand why I have TN.
Thanks again for the info