Trigeminal Neuralgia is the #1 cause of facial pain, with 4 to 5 persons per 100,000 having the disease. Some authorities say that more might be suffering, but aren’t counted because of misdiagnosis.

According to the National Pain Foundation, 1.7 millions have been diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia. TN’s reputation as one of the most severe body pains makes that 1.7 million too many. In many cases TN grows to be a debilitating and chronic pain that threatens the livelihood of the one who suffers with it.

In the past TN has been called Tic douloureux, and also the suicide disease, because the suffering it causes some patients drove them to take their life. Modern medicine has improved pain management through drugs and surgical procedures, and takes credit for reducing TN’s deadly reputation.

Yet, medicines don’t always work, and the idea of a cranial surgery can be too expensive, or downright scary for many. Some choose to seek help from alternative treatments. Popular web sources like Mayo.com list some of those therapies, like acupuncture, biofeedback, and vitamin therapy.

Still, there is one glaring omission of what might help TN. Upper cervical chiropractic care.

The Facial Pain Association and Upper Cervical Chiropractic

Thankfully the Facial Pain Association is here to help. The Facial Pain Association maintains an online knowledge base which allows TN patients to share their stories of TN treatments, and how they are seeking healing from Trigeminal Neuralgia. And many of their success stories include information about upper cervical chiropractic care.

Here are a few of them.

Thank you for your newsletters including personal testimonies. These have helped me to determine what is causing my nerves to flair up.

My problems started in the early 1990′s. I have used acupuncture and upper cervical chiropractic. Both of these have helped to make the pain minimal or non-existent; however, it has come back…but nothing major.

From Sharon.

I would like to share with other TN sufferers the great results I’ve had with an alternative treatment. I was first diagnosed with TN in 1994. The first flare-up lasted for about nine months. During that time I tried Tegritol and Dilantin, both had troublesome side effects so I just didn’t use any medication. After nine months the TN went into remission. In the following ten years I would occasionally have slight flare-ups but I never had to seek medical treatment.

In Oct of 2001 and I had a terrible flare-up. I couldn’t believe it was possible to endure such intense pain. My doctor prescribed Neurontin, which worked for a while, but because I kept having pain he prescribed Trileptal as well. This combination worked but I still had occasional flare-ups and had to keep increasing my medication.

During the three years that I was suffering I tried many different alternative treatments, acupuncture, biofeedback, two different types of chiropractic to name a few. I was ready to undergo surgery and beginning to investigate my options. Then my issue of TN Alert arrived. In that issue there were reports on several different types of alternative treatments. One of them was treatment by a practitioner of National Upper Cervical Chiropractic Association (NUCCA). I was intrigued by the description of the treatment because the article said that there was no cracking of the neck or spine. The treatment is very gentle. I was able to find a NUCCA practitioner near my home and began treatment in January of 2004; by April I was pain free and had weaned myself from all my medication. It is now September and I am still pain free.

From Kathleen.

June developed TN in October, 2003, and contacted several neurologists to confirm the diagnosis of trigeminal neuralgia. She was told by a neurologist that she had several options: 1) take medication for the remainder of her life, 2) have surgery, or 3) try acupuncture. She opted for acupuncture. After five treatments, she did not have any relief and requested that her son, seek additional information on the Internet. In April, 2004, John obtained the phone number for Rohn Harmer from the TNA web site and subsequently contacted Rohn to discuss his mother’s TN. Rohn reviewed June’s medical history and learned that approximately 2 years before the onset of TN, June was involved in an automobile accident wherein June’s car was broad sided and spun around about 180 degrees. June had soreness of her neck during this 2-year period prior to the onset of TN.

…

After learning about June’s automobile accident, Rohn recommended that June see the UCC doctor, whose office was located with a few miles of June’s home. He had previously treated approximately 15 TN patients and had significant success in eliminating or significantly reducing TN pain in those patients with subluxation of the Atlas or Axis (i.e., the number one and number two cervical vertebrae, respectively). He confirmed that June had a serious subluxation and began treatments in May, 2004. After five treatments, June observed a significant lessening of the frequency and intensity of TN pain. Within the subsequent two weeks, the pain continued to decrease. As of August 30 (the date of the meeting), June was essentially free of pain, although she has continues to have minor sensations triggered by bright light.

June has not taken any pain medication throughout the entire period of diagnosis and treatment. She feels that the underlying cause was the subluxation of her vertebrae. She and her son have read the references in Striking Back, by George Weigel and Dr. Casey, regarding UCC and feel that this information has led them to the proper treatment and elimination of the underlying cause. Moreover, they feel that recommendations of their family physician and neurologist did not address the underlying cause and would have further undermined her health.

From June.

In June, I decided to go to a local Chiropractor who specialized in Upper Cervical Care. On my first visit he performed an evaluation which consisted of a bunch of tests. Normally X-Rays are done, but because I was pregnant they were not an option. The tests (peripheral vision test on a computer screen, weighing me on two scales at the same time, body balance, pictures taken with dots on shoulders and hips, measured length of legs) seemed unusual to me and I have to admit I was skeptical, but this was one of my only hopes. On my next visit he gave me the results as well as my first adjustment. After he adjusted me, he had me lay down for a little while and the pain was almost immediately reduced. My skepticism was starting to go away and I felt hope for the first time in weeks.

Today I am happy to say that I have been pain free for a little over a month without ever taking medicine and am a true believer in Upper Cervical Care for the treatment of Trigeminal Neuralgia. Initially I saw the Dr. three times a week and then two. Now I see him once every two weeks. I am so grateful that this helped eliminate my pain and would suggest others to try it.

From Sandra

Do you suffer from Trigeminal Neuralgia or similar facial pain and want to know if our upper cervical care can help you? Please contact us to request your consultation with the doctor.

In a perfect world, none of us would have been born by forceps, or by Cesarian, or with the doctor pulling with too much force on our heads.

In a perfect world, none of us would have fallen off the side of the bed when we were 2, tripped down the stairs at age eight, or rolled our car in the ditch at eighteen.

But these things happen. And when they do they often stress the muscles and ligaments of the upper neck to the point where the vertebrae misalign and lock-down, placing stress on the spinal column and the delicate nervous system inside.

If we were lucky enough to have our parents take us to an upper cervical chiropractor at a young age, we might have only lived with our neck misalignment for days, weeks, or maybe a few years before having it properly adjusted.

But most of us aren’t, which means many of us live one, two, or six decades before we ever have our atlas unlocked by our upper cervical chiropractor. By this time ligaments are tightened, muscles have developed amnesia, and we have patterns of movements which place stress on the top of our spine without us even knowing.

All of this is to say, that even a really good upper cervical correction may not hold very well, especially in the beginning of our care. And if we want to make the most of our upper cervical chiropractic care, we’re going to need to NOT do a few things that tend to weaken our upper neck. Here are 50 of them.

50 simple ways you can lose your upper cervical alignment.

1. Sleeping on your stomach.

2. Sleeping on your side without proper neck support.

3. Reading in bed with a book on your chest.

4. Watching television in bed with your chin on your chest.

5. Falling asleep on the arm of the couch.

6. Falling asleep upright in a chair.

7. Falling asleep upright in a chair and waking up with an ear resting on one shoulder.

8. Falling asleep anywhere other than your bed.

9. Propping your head up on your hands, fist or palm under your jaw, for more than a few seconds at a time.

10. Looking up for more than a minute at a a time, be it stargazing, birdwatching, or painting a ceiling.

11. Stretching your neck by pushing it forward, backward, or pulling it to the the side with your hands.

12. Having anyone else push or pull your head to stretch your neck.

13. Stretching your neck by rolling your head in big circles.

14. Staring down at a Smart Phone screen or tablet for hours everyday.

15. Gripping a phone between your ear and your shoulder, instead of using headset or speaker phone.

16. Having a small child hang from your neck.

17. Having a small child jump on your head while wrestling in the living room.

18. Having anyone hang from your neck or jump on your head.

19. Whipping your head to the left or right or up and down while dancing, head-banging, or whatever it is you might be doing.

20. Flipping your hair repeatedly to remove it from your face.

21. Shaking your hair out to help dry it after a shower.

22. Turning your head without moving your shoulder to look behind you while driving.

23. Driving and hitting anything going more than five miles per hour.

24. Driving and getting hit by anyone else going more than five miles per hour, for that matter.

25. Getting into your small sedan by craning your neck to one side to sit down over and over again, instead of sitting down facing outward, and then rotating your body inward.

26. Getting elbowed in the face while playing basketball, volleyball, tag, or any other amateur sport.

27. Standing on your head.

28. Heading a soccer ball.

29. Smacking your own forehead.

30. Falling on an outstretched hand.

31. Doing a somersault improperly.

32. Doing a cartwheel improperly.

33. Doing certain yoga positions improperly.

34. Doing ab crunches with your hands behind your head.

35. Landing on your head from any height.

36. Boxing.

37. Martial arts with bad form.

38. Bench pressing and watching your biceps, not the bar.

39. Squatting and lifting your chin as you fatigue.

40. Lifting without tucking your chin at work, at home, or anywhere.

41. Getting dental work.

42. Popping your own neck.

43. Having someone else pop your neck.

44. Chewing gum all day.

45. Cracking a tooth.

46. Deep tissue massage in the neck.

47. Getting your hair washed, dyed, or dried backward in a salon sink.

48. Getting into a pillow fight.

49. Getting placed in a head-lock

50. Getting up, turning over, or moving your body by leading with the head and neck, and not with the pelvis.

Does doing any one of these 50 things mean you’re going to need another adjustment? Not necessarily. Everyone is a little bit different. (Some kids have played high school football without losing their alignment.)

But they are common ways that you can set your upper cervical care backwards, and they’re worth considering if you’re having a hard time holding your alignment.

During the consultation Dr. Ziska will examine patients to see if NUCCA is appropriate for them, educate patients on the NUCCA protocol, and answer any questions patients or their family members have about NUCCA care. Call Body in Harmony or Teresa Kohle to schedule your free consultation.

Dr. Ziska also provides a FREE health education seminar called Body in Balance and Health one evening every month at the West Holt Medical Services in Atkinson, NE. Past topics have included Balancing Body Structure, Reducing Inflammation, Low Back Pain, High Blood Pressure, Migraines, Knee Pain, Optimal Nutrition, etc.

Please invite your friends and family members to attend these seminars and take responsibility for your health.

Dr. Ziska is part of the West Holt Outreach Clinic Staff.

Due to Body in Harmony’s large patient volume from Holt County, Nebraska, Dr. Ziska was invited to be on the Outreach Staff of West Holt Medical Services in Atkinson.

Since August 2010 Dr. Ziska has been serving the Holt County Community and providing follow up NUCCA care for patients in the West Holt Outreach Clinic 2 days per month.

Patients need to come to Omaha for their initial exam, x-rays, correction and post x-rays and a few follow up visits. After the initial visit they are able to minimize trips to Omaha since they can see Dr. Ziska for NUCCA care in Atkinson once a month.

Please call Body in Harmony at (402) 614-4201 or Teresa Kohle, Outreach Coordinator for West Holt Medical Services at (402) 925-2631 for more information. You can also view the West Holt Medical website.