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Have Trigeminal Neuralgia, Had A Fracture, Joint And Chest Pain, Pressure On Spinal Cord. Treated By Decompression Surgeries. Suggest
Hi
I have trigemminal neuralgia which has been treated by 2 decompression surgeries. I still keep having episodic occurences of the neuralgia which I am certain is either caused or agravated by an old car accident injury where I had a crush fracture to the top of the blocky part of T5. Whenever any motion I make upsets this joint I get some chest pain (which sometimes feels like someone has kicked me in the solar plexus) and I get a reoccurance of the neuralgia symptoms. I suspect that I may have a sligtly herniated disc between T4 & T5 which is periodically putting pressure on my spinal cord and flaring up the neuralgia. I have occassionally been able to get some relief by getting someone to push hard enough on my back to get some separation of the vertebrae to allow the disc to return to it's normal position but this is not a good solution as it is very difficult to locate the exact spot to push on and the correct force/direction etc. I am concerned that continuing to use this method may end up causing damage to other vertebrae and it is only the rare occasion that it actually works, though when it does I can be fine for several months until the vertebrae move out of alignment again. But also the opposite can occur where the vertebrae move in the wrong direction which can worsen the neuralgia considerably.
Is there anything that can be done to get more long-term consistent relief?
I have trigemminal neuralgia which has been treated by 2 decompression surgeries. I still keep having episodic occurences of the neuralgia which I am certain is either caused or agravated by an old car accident injury where I had a crush fracture to the top of the blocky part of T5. Whenever any motion I make upsets this joint I get some chest pain (which sometimes feels like someone has kicked me in the solar plexus) and I get a reoccurance of the neuralgia symptoms. I suspect that I may have a sligtly herniated disc between T4 & T5 which is periodically putting pressure on my spinal cord and flaring up the neuralgia. I have occassionally been able to get some relief by getting someone to push hard enough on my back to get some separation of the vertebrae to allow the disc to return to it's normal position but this is not a good solution as it is very difficult to locate the exact spot to push on and the correct force/direction etc. I am concerned that continuing to use this method may end up causing damage to other vertebrae and it is only the rare occasion that it actually works, though when it does I can be fine for several months until the vertebrae move out of alignment again. But also the opposite can occur where the vertebrae move in the wrong direction which can worsen the neuralgia considerably.
Is there anything that can be done to get more long-term consistent relief?
Sat, 5 Oct 2013
Hi,
Trigeminal neuralgia refers to pain in certain areas of the face due to the involvement of the trigeminal nerve which is inside the skull, and not in the back. What you are describing is due to the involvement of some thoracic nerves. I agree with you that putting pressure on the back may inadvertently end up causing further damage. In my opinion, a magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic vertebrae should be done to find out if there indeed is a herniated disc, or some other pathology is responsible for the pain. Once the cause is found, appropriate treatment can be decided.
Hope this helps you. Best wishes.
Trigeminal neuralgia refers to pain in certain areas of the face due to the involvement of the trigeminal nerve which is inside the skull, and not in the back. What you are describing is due to the involvement of some thoracic nerves. I agree with you that putting pressure on the back may inadvertently end up causing further damage. In my opinion, a magnetic resonance imaging of the thoracic vertebrae should be done to find out if there indeed is a herniated disc, or some other pathology is responsible for the pain. Once the cause is found, appropriate treatment can be decided.
Hope this helps you. Best wishes.
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