This is a very painful condition, which is caused by malfunction of the trigeminal nerve. This is one of the cranial nerves that lead directly from the brain to the head. There are 12 cranial nerves in total and the trigeminal nerve is the fifth cranial nerve.

Adults of any age can be affected by trigeminal neuralgia, but the disorder is more common in the elderly. The cause in Western medicine is unknown. The pain can occur spontaneously but is often set off by touching a particular spot or by an activity such as brushing the teeth, yawning, or chewing. The pain is severe and piecing and can last from seconds to minutes. Most often the pain is felt in the cheek adjacent to the nose or in the jaw area. Recurring as often as 100 times a day, the pain can be exhausting – mentally and emotionally.

According to Chinese medicine, trigeminal neuralgia is characterised by a disruption in the flow of qi (energy) and blood in the channels. Acupuncture needles are inserted according to which branch of the nerve has been affected, i.e. which acupuncture channel!

Acupuncture is effective for controlling pain but difficult to cure completely, it may need many courses of treatment. Frequent of treatment will depend largely on how severe and dehabilitating the pain is. Best results will be achieved with daily treatment if the pain is particularly bad. Treatment cost will be reduced if frequent treatment is needed.

Case History - Lady, aged 40+ (Leeds Pain Clinic, West Yorkshire, 1999)

This particular patient had been coming to the pain clinic for several years. She had a long history of emotional problems and was unable to work due to chronic pain in her back & neck. I was treating this patient regularly for one year.
One week, she had a lot of facial pain that was unbearable. In her notes she had a history of trigeminal pain. I treated her by needling the course of the facial nerve that was affected, combined with some points further along the acupuncture channels. When I took the needles out all the pain was gone! When I saw her the following week she reported being pain-free until the evening. The pain was triggered off again by yawning.

I was not treating her trigeminal neuralgia regularly enough to see long-term improvement. It was encouraging the acupuncture could eliminate the pain completely, albeit for a few hours only. I am sure that if it was treated regularly, then more lasting results would be achieved. There is a saying in Chinese Medicine which says, ‘if we can get rid of the pain for an hour then we can get rid of the pain for a day. If we can get rid of the pain for a day, then we can get rid of the pain for a week….’
Sometimes treatment ‘fails’ because the sessions are not frequently enough. Normally I see patients once/ twice weekly, but there are occasions when treatment is needed every day, or every other day.

I do not encounter much trigeminal neuralgia in the clinic, although I would be delighted to treat it. This is probably because trigeminal neuralgia isn’t too common, and many sufferers are probably unaware that acupuncture could help them.