Relieve Your Facial Pain with Acupuncture
Medication isn't the only way to manage facial pain. Acupuncture treatments offer long-lasting relief of pain and may even prevent your face pain from returning. Acupuncturists treat many types of facial pain, including pain caused by these common conditions:
Sinusitis
Sinusitis occurs due to inflammation or an infection in your sinuses. In addition to congestion, thick mucus, headache, and post-nasal drip, you may notice pain and pressure in your face if you have sinusitis.
Acupuncture treatment reduces congestion by helping your body get rid of mucus. Treatments also improve the immune system and prompt your body to produce endorphins, brain chemicals that relieve pain naturally. Boosting your immune system with acupuncture treatment may even help you avoid bouts of sinusitis in the future.
Migraines and Headaches
Face pain can make migraines and headaches feel even worse. Fortunately, acupuncture treatment offers an effective way to treat migraine and headache-related pain. Treatments can:
- Reduce muscle tension in your head, neck, and shoulders
- Decrease the frequency of your headaches
- Improve blood flow to your head
- Reduce inflammation
Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (TMJ)
TMJ occurs due to inflammation or misalignment of the bones, muscles, tendons, or ligaments in your jaw joints. The hinged joints are located just below your ear on both sides of your face. TMJ can cause jaw stiffness, trouble opening and closing your mouth, headaches, clicking sounds, muscle spasms, and pain.
Acupuncture treatment loosens tight jaw muscles, decreases muscle spasms, and may even help reduce jaw clicking. A systemic review of acupuncture studies in the Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache revealed that acupuncture appears to be a helpful therapy for TMJ patients.
Trigeminal Neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia irritates the nerves in your face, causing severe pain. Seemingly minor movements can trigger the pain, such as washing your face, eating, blowing your nose, talking, or brushing your teeth. When pain strikes, you may feel burning, stabbing, or an electrical shock sensation. Although trigeminal neuralgia symptoms come and go at first, the pain can become permanent without treatment.
Doctors often use medication to treat the condition. Although the drugs can help reduce the pain, they can cause unpleasant side effects. In some cases, you may need higher and higher doses to keep your pain under control.
Acupuncture can reduce pain, inflammation, and nerve irritation caused by trigeminal neuralgia. Thanks to your treatments, you may be able to reduce the dosage of medication that you take.
Shingles
Shingles cause fever, nausea, chills, and headaches, in addition to a painful, blistering rash. Although the rash usually appears on the torso, it may also affect the face. Treating shingles on the face promptly is particularly important, as the infection could damage your vision.
Herbal medications and acupuncture may decrease itching and pain and speed healing of the rash. Acupuncture can also be helpful in treating post-herpetic neuralgia. The condition occurs if you continue to have shingles pain long after the rash has disappeared.
According to a systematic review and meta-analysis of acupuncture published in the Journal of Pain Research, electroacupuncture, cupping and other therapies, can reduce the intensity of pain in people with post-herpetic neuralgia and may improve their quality of life.
Acupuncture treatment can offer real relief to your facial pain symptoms. If you're tired of living with pain, contact our office to schedule your first appointment.
Sources:
American Migraine Foundation: Acupuncture and Migraine: Finding a Combination That Sticks, 7/25/17
Practical Pain Management: Acupuncture: New Approach for Temporomandibular Disorders
American Academy of Neurological Surgeons: Trigeminal Neuralgia