Trigeminal Neuralgia and the Upper Cervical Spine

In the upper cervical spine, there are four main structures to focus on. They are:

  1. The Foramen Magnum of the Occipital bone 

  2. The Atlas vertebra (1st cervical bone)

  3. The Axis vertebra (2nd cervical bone) 

  4. The Brainstem of the Nerve System. 

     The Brainstem exits from the Foramen Magnum. The Atlas and Axis bones protect and surround the Brainstem. The brainstem connects all the nerves from the brain to the nerves of the body. 

UC-Brain-Brainstem-Cord-copy.jpg

     Regarding Trigeminal Neuralgia, the secondary focus is on the Trigeminal nerve. 

     The Trigeminal nerve comes out of the skull close to the foramen magnum. The Trigeminal nerve is a unique and complex nerve with 3 main branches. They are the Ophthalmic, Maxillary and Mandibular branches. 

  • The Ophthalmic branch supplies function to the eyeball, the skin of the upper face and scalp, nasal cavity, and skull. 

  • The Maxillary branch supplies function to the upper jaw, nasal cavity, sinuses, and the roof of the mouth.

  • The Mandibular branch supplies function to the muscles of mastication (chewing muscles), cheek, tongue, lower jaw (chin), throat and part of the ear.

Overview-of-the-Anatomical-Distribution-of-the-Trigeminal-Nerve-and-its-Terminal-Branches.jpg

The Nerve System in general does four main things: 

  1. It controls all the movements we make

  2. Senses everything we feel

  3. Regulates all our body organs

  4. Relates us to the outside world

When nerves get stressed, it effects their sensitivity, perception and behavior. There are three types of stresses we deal with in life. The stresses are physical, chemical and emotional in nature. These stresses create nerve tension and spine imbalance.

     One specific job of the brainstem is to adapt these stresses and help bring the spine back into balance. If the stresses are too great for the brainstem to adapt, compensations arise. One particular compensation that occurs in the upper cervical spine is a vertebral subluxation.

    A vertebral subluxation will cause the Atlas and Axis bones to get locked in a misaligned position. This lock will perpetuate spine imbalance and Nerve System tension. This tension will lead to abnormal sensitivity, perception and behavior of the brainstem and connecting nerves. Nerve System function is disrupted.

    Over time, this disruption can lead to symptoms. The usual symptoms of Trigeminal Neuralgia are:

  • Severe, shooting, electric shock type of pain. 

  • A constant aching, burning feeling. 

  • Pain in cheek, jaw, teeth, gums, lips, or the eye and forehead.

The pain associated with Trigeminal Neuralgia is often called Suicide pain for how severe it can be. Attacks can be triggered by things such as touching the face, chewing, speaking or brushing teeth. 

If we reference the Trigeminal nerve and its branches, we can see that the nerve associates with all the Trigeminal Neuralgia symptoms.

     The goal of Chiropractic is not to medically treat the symptoms of a Trigeminal Neuralgia. The aim of Chiropractic is to correct nerve tension and spine imbalance. Chiropractors correct this by adjusting the vertebral subluxation of the upper cervical spine. 

    Correcting the subluxation better optimizes the function of the brainstem and associated nerves. The Nerve System overall can sense, perceive and behave at a greater potential when a subluxation is corrected.  

- Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP

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Jarek Esarco, DC, CACCP is a pediatric, family wellness and upper cervical specific Chiropractor. He is an active member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association (ICPA). Dr. Jarek has postgraduate certification in Pediatric Chiropractic through the ICPA. Dr. Jarek also has postgraduate certification in the HIO Specific Brain Stem technique through The TIC Institute. Dr. Jarek is happily married to his wife Regina. They live in Youngstown, Ohio with their daughter Ruby.

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