The Symptoms of Face Pain caused by Trigger Points
- Tooth Ache, pain in the upper and lower teeth
- Sensitive teeth
- Pain in the teeth and jaw
- Temporomandibular joint pain
- Restricted opening of the jaw
- Pain under the eyes and eyebrows
- Bags under the eyes
- Pain deep in the ear with no known cause, with a stuffy feeling
- Travell and Simons link Tinnitus with trigger points in the Masseter, SCM’s & Ptergoid muscles
- You have been to the dentist because you think you have tooth ache. The dentist has confirmed your teeth are fine yet you still have pain in your teeth that feels like toothache.
The possible causes of Face Pain
- Spending too long with your mouth open wide, this could be after sitting in the dentist chair or an operation such as having your tonsils removed
- Grinding and clenching your teeth
How Massage can help relieve Facial Pain
Massage works to ease tense and painful muscles softening the tension and allowing the muscle to relax and work properly. Sometimes during a massage we will come across trigger points (knots) in the muscle, which effectively shorten the muscle. Imagine tying a knot in a rubber band and see how that effects the performance. It effects its ability to stretch and contract and it’s just the same with a muscle. We place gentle pressure on the trigger point, massaging it until it releases and softens. Which allows the muscle to move freely and do it’s job properly. Which in turn removes the pain you are experiencing. Trigger points can refer pain all over the body in this example trigger points in the Masseter muscle are responsible for pain in the teeth and jaw.
Muscles which when tense or knotted contribute to Facial Pain
- Masseter
- Pterygoid Muscles
- Sternocleidomastoid
- Temporalis
How Many Massage Treatments will I need?
This is a very individual thing. It can depend on:
- How long its been painful. Sometime the longer the more stubbornly ingrained the knot and tension the more massage will be required.
- It can depend on what you do between massages. If you continue to be stressed and grind your teeth heavily you may require a series of massages to keep on top of the tension in the jaw muscles. Sometimes we can sort the pain with one treatment. Sometimes it will take two to three, everyone is different and the amount of massage required will vary from person to person.