TRIGEMINAL

NEURALGIA

Morganne BrownIT 2010 GSU

November 7, 2013

What is it? Sharp, shooting

pain that stems from the fifth cranial nerve.

Pain lasts short amounts of time, typically and is said to be the most excruciating pain that exists.

Origins of the Disease

Mostly unknown

Some possibilities are: Aging Multiple Sclerosis Traumatic Accidents

For example, a massage client of Laura Abbott, MS, LMT was in a car accident that forced her skull bones against the trigeminal nerve, leading to her experiencing trigeminal neuralgia.

Stimulators

The slightest of catalysts can trigger pain from the trigeminal nerve in someone that has trigeminal neuralgia.

Actions/factors such as: Brushing fingers across face Talking Wind Applying make-up Eating Sneezing

Ways to Cope

Medication Surgery Rhizotomy

This causes facial numbness due to the destruction of some of the nerve fibers

Drugs such as anticonvulsants Severing of the nerve

Causes the face to droop

Statistics

15,000 new cases/year in the U.S.

Females are more likely to experience it

Nicknamed the “suicide disease” because after 3 years of having it, about 50% of people commit suicide

Patients tend to be over 50 years old

Summary

This “suicide disease” is largely a mystery to the scientific world.

Women over 50 who have MS or have been in a traumatic accident are the most likely to get trigeminal neuralgia.

The pain is excruciating and can be stimulated by the simplest brush on the cheek.

It deals with the 5th cranial nerve. There are several ways to cope with this

disease.