Face Pain

Origins of Face Pain

Osteopaths work with the whole body and one area which may seem less obvious as a candidate for osteopathic treatment is the face. However this sensitive body part which is vulnerable to impact injury often responds well to osteopathy. Unlike the rest of the skull which is made up of big plates of bone which protect the brain, the face is made up of a mosaic of medium, small and really small sized bones.

Some purposes of this difference are amongst other things: to enable drainage from the eye socket, also the air sinuses as well as to warm and moisten the air as it travels through the nose so that it hits the surface of the lung in a state which maximises gas exchange. With impact onto certain key areas or with repeat impact we can find that the face becomes less resilient and starts to cause patients to mouth breath, decrease their sinus drainage and experience pain or discomfort.

The other structure in the face that can cause pain and difficulty is the jaw (mandible), especially at its joint on to the skull, the tempero-mandibular joint. Gentle technique together with advice can usually improve symptoms and provide patients with their own ongoing management strategy to prevent recurrence. If teeth clenching or grinding is part of this picture then we may recommend talking to your dentist about bite raisers, which will enable the jaw to maintain a better position at night, when clenching and grinding often occur.

The Osteopathic Approach to Face Pain

In working with the musculo-skeletal system osteopaths have found a number of techniques which help to relieve physical discomfort and pain. Because the musculo-skeletal system incorporates the whole body, osteopaths can help with problems in a number of areas, not just the low back and neck for which we are well known.

One area which might be a less obvious candidate for osteopathic treatment is the face.

Osteopaths have studied face and head pain for many years and we find that this most debilitating and unpleasant of problems can sometimes be helped by cranial osteopathic  techniques.

Faces get into trouble for many reasons, often associated with impact e.g. fall or assault, and sometimes dental work. By working to reverse the effect of these factors on the face and head relief can be given with this gentle approach.