Harry Smith, Son of TN Patient

Personal Story about Trigger Point Massage

I am a massage therapist in Melbourne, Australia and my mother was diagnosed with TN. Part of my course with massage was acupressure and I treated points for the nervous system and facial paralysis with some limited success in reducing attacks and severity along with reducing the dosage of medication my mother was on.

Upon reading in my human anatomy & physiology book (Elaine N. Marieb 5th Edition page 487) that TN is caused by inflammation of the Trigeminal Nerve, I thought what would cause the inflammation. I know impingement of nerves can often cause inflammation so looking at the branches of the Trigeminal nerve, a part of the cranial nerves, the Accessory nerve supplies the Sternocleidomastoid (SCM) muscle in the neck.

I work mainly as a massage therapist with trigger points (tp's) in treating muscular problems and I know that the SCM Trigger Points (TP's) can refer pain to the eye, upper face temple region.

My mothers symptoms for TN where very severe with even a slight breeze on her face causing excruciating pain. She could not bear the thought of anything touching or brushing against her face. Her eye was patricianly closed along with dizziness and nausea.

Her history of a car accident 12 years beforehand (suffering whiplash) made me think she probably had latent TP's in her SCM caused from that incident as this had never been looked at before. She had recently prior to the onset of TN had a very stressful 6 months with my father in hospital for 3 months and recouping afterwards. Stress I know can cause latent TP's to become active which I feel is how the compression of the nerve over months probably brought TN on.

I thought I would try working TP's in her SCM. The first time I touched the TP it sent referral pain to the same region as her TN was felt. After working her tp she had an immediate improvement. Her feeling of dizziness, nausea disappeared, her eye opened up and she felt no pain. I tried touching the affected area and to my mothers utter disbelief she had no pain, even after pressing firmly. I told her to go of her medication to see how it was. She has had no pain or symptoms since although I still work her TP, firstly twice a week and now weekly. This has been for the last 5 to 6 weeks without any pain etc at all. Her TP is nearly gone so I wont have to work it anymore and I am sure she will not have any reoccurrence.

I feel the first thing any person presenting with TN should go and see a massage therapist and have TP's looked for in their SCM.

My mother recently had a TN relapse in a more severe way. I had become a bit laid back with treating my mother's  TP as she was having no problems so my treatments became fewer.

My mum's relapse occurred after she had some stressing news and she woke in her sleep from an attack.

She has been diagnosed by her doctor with acute TN and given a script for Tregretol 200. I came the next day and treated mum, and to no surprise to me her reoccurrence of TN also meant her TP's in her (SCM) and Scalenes where extremely bad with a number of them in each muscle referring pain to her head. It was extremely painful for me to work her TP's but again as ALWAYS there was a dramatic improvement in the reduction and severity of attacks immediately. Her TP's where too active to eradicate in one treatment.

I thought these TP's are too intense for the amount of stress mum had and further asked questions as to what would cause the TP's to come back. On talking to her I asked what positions she sleeps in and she replied always on her stomach. I immediately had my cause for the reoccurrence as sleeping on your stomach forces you to have your head turned to one side, therefore stressing your SCM and Scalenes to the point of creating TP's again. I also worked TP's in the Masseter.

Stress causes the neck muscles to tighten creating TP's and it was this that triggered the attack of again after latent TP's would of formed through her sleeping habits.

Mum improved very quickly and she was taking half a tablet a day, stopped immediately in sleeping on her stomach. It is a very easy way to motivate someone to change habits when you tell them there pain is caused from sleeping on her stomach. She would only have a minor attack once or twice a day. Until I treated her the pain was constant and after 3 weeks I had eradicated her TP's and to no surprise of mine she no longer has any attacks and again is taking no medication. I tell her to call me immediately if there is an attack and I check her neck muscles for TP's every time I see her to make sure there is no reoccurrence.

My whole purpose of this letter is I believe there are allot of other sufferers of TN out there, who I am sure would respond to the same treatment. Maybe there are variations but again I would look for TP's in all area's where the Trigeminal nerve and its branches supply to release any possible TP's in these muscles. Therefore relaxing the muscles which are impinging on the nerves causing the inflammation in the first place. Even if 10% of TN sufferers responded to this treatment that would be a fantastic result.

I do know this treatment in my mum's case was directly responsible for the ceasing of symptoms. There is no coincidence and you immediately saw the results.

I did comply a letter to my mum's doctor asking if he had any other sufferers of TN and what treatment I did, but all he said to mum was if it seems to work for you to keep trying it but continue to take your medication.

Unfortunately I am frustrated by the Doctors who generally seem only to think in the way of drugs to take or surgery as the only options for treating illness. Perhaps I feel my mum's doctor could of taken it a little more seriously and at least called me or perhaps said to another patient it would be worth a try.

As far as contacting the TN organization in Australia, I would love to but I don't know where or the web address. I did a search and found yours and some in the UK who I resounded to but the response has been skeptical apart from yourself. I would love to see if I could help other suffers of TN in Australia and every where else but I don't know any organizations and so far I feel, I can put in allot of effort and time to contact people but so far no one really seems to listen. AT LEAST MY MUM IS A BELIEVER AND KNOWS WHAT I DID HELPED HER.

As far as the massage therapist you have tried I don't know how they treated you. I call myself more a Trigger point therapist as that is how I treat and there is allot of resistance to focusing on TP's by most massage therapist I know.

A great book on self treatment of TP's is by an American author Clair Davies, the book called The Trigger Point Therapy Workbook. It would be worth a look.

How you say TN goes into remission is very coincidental to the fact that TP's become latent and stop actively referring pain.

Updated 1-24-05