Facial pain: neurological disorders of the facial area

Neuritis is an inflammation that is accompanied by pain in the area of certain nerve nodes.

Branches of the facial nerve are located in almost all facial muscles (with the exception of mastication). Accordingly, pain sensations manifest themselves quite widely.

However, massage helps very well with neuritis. How and what kind of massage is performed for neuritis of the facial nerve - read the article.

Does it help with inflammation?

Massage is quite an effective remedy for this disease . However, it must be prescribed by a doctor.

The fact is that during the acute period (approximately the first week) massage is contraindicated. But after the acute manifestations are relieved, the use of certain techniques not only helps eliminate pain, but also speeds up the healing process.

With proper treatment - a combination of medications and professional massage - recovery and muscle restoration occurs much faster.

You can do it yourself or contact a specialist . However, when performing self-massage, it is necessary to consult with a specialist and study the technique in detail.

Learn about other treatments for Bell's palsy: exercise therapy and acupuncture.

general information

Before explaining what facial neuralgia is, we should consider it in more detail. What functions does it perform? The facial nerve is an element of the innervation system of the facial region. Providing sensitivity is its main function. In this regard, branches of this nerve are located on both sides of the face. They are “supplied” to each organ in the front of the head. Trigeminal neuralgia is a disease that is accompanied by a disorder of its functions. It is characterized by short but extremely severe attacks of pain. In most cases, this pathology is accompanied by a chronic course. The acute period is replaced by a long period of calm. At this time, the patient does not feel pain. According to some experts, neuralgia of the facial nerve is not an independent disease. Sometimes it is not possible to determine its source.

Standard

Typically, such a massage is performed by a specialist and does not last long - up to 20 minutes . However, classic massage for neuritis of the facial nerve is quite painful, so you will have to be patient during the recovery period.

The effects are aimed at improving blood flow to the facial muscles. It also restores reduced or lost motor functions due to the disease. Helps eliminate speech defects and relieves spasms of facial muscles.

Although this procedure is often performed by a specialist, it can also be done independently. However, before doing this, there are several important aspects to consider.

Execution Rules

It is recommended to massage twice a day and combine it with physical therapy exercises . For each of these actions, allocate about 10 minutes.

You must first study the detailed technique (if self-massage is performed).

The best way out is to perform several procedures in the presence of a specialist who will not only teach you how to perform it, but also monitor the correctness of the actions.

Initially, you need to stretch the muscles of the neck and face , and then proceed directly to performing certain techniques.

Exercise therapy for the neck before facial massage

In order to improve blood circulation in the head and neck area, immediately before the massage, it is necessary to carry out certain gymnastics (the so-called exercise therapy).

It is better to perform these exercises in front of a mirror so that the movements are symmetrical. After performing each movement, you should relax your muscles.

Initially, each movement should be done slowly in order to perform it correctly. After which you can move on to more active ones.

This course of exercises is aimed at the entire shoulder girdle . They spend it sitting on a chair.

We move our hand to the side and turn our head in its direction, looking at the palm; repeat the same action with the other hand.
Place your hands on your shoulders and rotate your hands 5 times clockwise, then 5 times in the opposite direction.
Raise and lower your shoulders (at the same time).
Turn your neck left and right.
We perform circular movements with our heads (clockwise/counterclockwise).
Tilt your head to the right/left.

Order and technique

Begin the massage from the frontal area:

Horizontal strokes from the center to the temples.
Vertical rubbing from the eyebrows to the hairline.
Pressing with finger pads from the center to the temples; on the forehead, applying pressure with the entire length of the fingers.
Alternately squeezing the skin with your thumb and index finger (pinching).
Tapping your forehead with your fingertips.

Next, move on to massage the eye sockets:

With your eyes closed, move your middle finger from the outer corner of the eye to the inner corner (along the lower orbit).
Using your index finger, make pointed circular movements to the inner corner of the eye along the lower edge.
We repeat the same movements above the eyebrow.
We pinch our eyebrows.
We stroke the eye sockets.

The next stage is massage of the lower part of the face (nose, lips, jaw):

Using horizontal movements, rub from the middle of the chin to the nose, along the back of the nose.
We apply point pressure on the chin and nasolabial triangle.
We stroke with our palm from the middle of the chin to the nose, along the nose, from the tips of the lips to the sides.
We perform pinching in the nasolabial triangle.

The final stage is a cheek massage:

We stroke our cheeks with our palms.
Rub from the nose to the edges of the cheeks.
Circular point massage with fingers.
We run our fingertips over our cheeks.
We pinch the cheeks, grabbing the neck.
Apply precise pressure with your fingertips.
Tap with your fingertips.
We tap our cheeks with our index and middle fingers.
We stroke the nasolabial folds with our thumbs.

Each point must be repeated 2-3 times, while repeating the first point after each exercise.

Duration of exposure

The duration of each session does not exceed 20 minutes . On average – 5 minutes of preparation and 10 minutes of the massage itself.

The course is quite long and is divided into three stages:

the first 10 days – basic (not affecting the affected side of the face);
the next 3 months – the main one (restoration of mobility of the affected part);
another 2-3 months - residual (until symptoms are completely eliminated).

Massage for neuritis of the facial nerve:

Pinpoint for Bell's palsy

It is a fairly common technique for neuritis of the facial nerve. Some of the actions of this technique are performed even in classical massage. Therefore, we can talk about its undoubted benefits.

However, replacing classic massage with acupressure is not always useful. Sometimes they can be combined. The main thing is to consult a doctor in any case.

With this massage, shiatsu points are affected . They are stroked and lightly pressed on each for 10-15 seconds.

Recommendations

For neuritis of the facial nerve, acupressure is performed, avoiding impact on the points around the eyes .

Before performing such a massage, it is necessary to study the location of shiatsu points. At first, you need to perform it in front of a mirror to see the correct placement of your hands and fingers.

Before the massage, the muscles must be relaxed . It is very important not to ignore the healthy area of the face, but to perform the movements symmetrically.

Which points should be affected and how to find them correctly?

For this disease, eight points need to be affected:

Ying-xiang - along the edges of the wings of the nose.
Tai-yang - along the edges of the eyebrows (closer to the temples).
Yuyao - above the eyebrow in the middle.
Tsuan-zhu - near the beginning of the eyebrow.
Si-zhu-kun - near the outer edge of the eyebrow.
Mei-chun - in the middle of the frontal part.
Xia-guan – on the temporomandibular joint.
Di-tsang - near the corners of the mouth.

How to do?

It is worth moving from the highest points to the lowest . Press with medium force. It is necessary to do 2-3 approaches from top to bottom - this increases efficiency. Press on each point for about 10-15 seconds, then move on to the next one.

You can also apply an ice cube to each of the points, and then apply warm fingers to it (alternating cold and heat).

Course duration

Impact on each point for about 10-15 seconds . In general, the duration of the massage is from 5 to 10 minutes.

The course is usually the same as for classical massage for neuritis. However, it is worth considering the possibility of alternating two types of influences, and sometimes adding exercise therapy.

What is the facial nerve?

Each person has 8 pairs of cranial nerves, which are responsible for performing certain functions.
Each nerve has central nuclei in the brain structure and a peripheral network in different parts of the brain. The eighth pair of nerves is responsible for the work of muscles that are involved in the formation of human facial expressions. The motor nuclei of the eighth pair are located near the medulla oblongata. The facial nerve has a complex structure from an anatomical point of view. The passage from motor nuclei to muscle tissue is quite complex. Therefore, facial neuralgia, in fact, can arise from various disorders, injuries, and inflammations localized in the anatomical structures of the head, which lie on the path from the motor nuclei of the eighth nerve to the facial muscles.

Advantages and disadvantages of this treatment

The advantages of this method of treatment are that with the right treatment, it becomes possible to completely restore muscles .

Considering that with some neuritis speech also suffers, this is very uncomfortable. Massage helps correct this problem too.

A significant advantage is that with this treatment, recovery takes much less time than if the treatment was carried out only with medication.

The main disadvantage is that if the massage is performed incorrectly, there will be no effect . When it comes to self-massage, this happens quite often.

Also, in the case of an undetected tumor or imperceptible otitis, even a long massage does not bring results. In such cases, it is necessary to look for the cause and eliminate it. From here we proceed that massage for this disease is a very useful procedure that helps muscles recover faster and gives them the opportunity to “work” as usual.

Elimination of a large number of unpleasant consequences of the disease is a significant advantage of this treatment method.

Even though such effects are often painful, it is worth enduring the unpleasant sensations in order to be completely healthy.

Pain due to skin diseases

The facial skin is very thin and sensitive. It is not surprising that it hurts even with minor pathological processes. Consider, skin soreness appears.

Soft tissue damage

In case of mechanical damage, for example, from a fall, the delicate skin of the face suffers quite a lot. In addition to unpleasant sensations, unsightly abrasions and bruises are clearly visible.

Changes in nevus structure

Almost every person has moles on their face. In normal condition they do not cause any discomfort. However, a mole can develop into a malignant neoplasm. Therefore, you should be wary if the following signs appear:

the mole hurts, usually the discomfort is one-sided; for example, if the mole is located on the left, pain is felt on the left side of the face;
its outlines lost clarity;
the color and dimensions of the nevus have changed;
the mole is oozing or bleeding.