{"id":3434,"date":"2025-07-14T13:46:52","date_gmt":"2025-07-14T13:46:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/headaches-and-facial-pain\/"},"modified":"2026-03-17T17:50:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T17:50:09","slug":"headaches-and-facial-pain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/headaches-and-facial-pain\/","title":{"rendered":"Headaches and facial pain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>(Migraine, Occipital Neuralgia, Trigeminal Neuralgia and other forms of chronic facial pain)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Pain Affects the Head&#8230; Or Face<\/h2>\n\n<p><strong>Chronic head or facial pain<\/strong> can have a profound impact on quality of life. In some cases, these are <strong>recurring migraines<\/strong>, in others, intense and sudden <strong>neuralgias<\/strong>. It is important to recognize <strong>the precise cause<\/strong> of the pain in order to offer targeted treatment.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Migraine<\/h2>\n\n<p><strong>Migraine<\/strong> is a form of <strong>primary headache<\/strong> (i.e., not due to other diseases) that affects approximately <strong>12% of the population<\/strong>. It is characterized by: <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Throbbing<\/strong> or pounding pain, often <strong>unilateral<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recurring episodes<\/strong> lasting 4\u201372 hours<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Often accompanied by <strong>nausea<\/strong>, <strong>vomiting<\/strong>, <strong>photophobia<\/strong> (light sensitivity) and <strong>phonophobia<\/strong> (sound sensitivity)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In some cases preceded by <strong>visual or sensory aura<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>Migraine is a complex neurological disease, <strong>not just a &#8220;headache&#8221;<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trigeminal Neuralgia<\/h2>\n\n<p><strong>Trigeminal nerve neuralgia<\/strong> is a rare but extremely painful form of facial pain. It presents with: <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Sudden and lightning-like bursts<\/strong> of pain, similar to an electric shock<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Usually affects <strong>one half of the face<\/strong> (jaw, cheek, forehead)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attacks can be <strong>triggered by simple stimuli<\/strong>: talking, chewing, washing the face<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The pain lasts from <strong>seconds to minutes<\/strong>, but can repeat dozens of times per day<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p>It is caused by irritation of the <strong>trigeminal nerve<\/strong>, which transmits facial sensation.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Other Causes of Chronic Facial Pain<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Chronic tension headache<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cervicogenic headaches<\/strong> (related to cervical disorders)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Occipital neuralgia<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Post-herpetic neuropathic pain (e.g., after shingles)<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Temporomandibular dysfunction (TMJ)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How is it Diagnosed?<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Specialized neurological or pain assessment<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Neurological examination and examination of the face and musculature<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In some cases: <strong>brain MRI<\/strong>, electromyography or CT scan<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What treatments are available?<\/h2>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Drug treatment<\/h3>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Preventive medications for migraine<\/strong> (antiepileptics, antidepressants)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Triptans<\/strong> for acute attacks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Anticonvulsants or carbamazepine<\/strong> for trigeminal neuralgia<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><a href=\"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/transcutaneous-electrical-nerve-stimulation\/\">TENS<\/a> (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation)<\/h3>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A small device that stimulates nerves through the skin with mild electrical impulses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It can help <strong>reduce pain<\/strong> by modulating pain signals locally, safely, and non-invasively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Mini-invasive Interventional Therapies<\/h3>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Nerve blocks<\/strong> of the trigeminal or greater occipital nerve<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/spinal-cord-neurostimulation\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"1703\">Peripheral or central neuromodulation<\/a><\/strong> in severe and refractory cases<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the Prognosis?<\/h2>\n\n<p>With a correct diagnosis and targeted treatment, <strong>most patients can achieve effective pain control<\/strong>. Modern therapies, even mini-invasive ones, allow us to <strong>reduce the frequency, intensity and social impact of pain<\/strong>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Migraine, Occipital Neuralgia, Trigeminal Neuralgia and other forms of chronic facial pain) When Pain Affects the Head&#8230; Or Face Chronic head or facial pain can have a profound impact on quality of life. In some cases, these are recurring migraines, in others, intense and sudden neuralgias. It is important to recognize the precise cause of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4151,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sindrome"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10.png",964,642,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10.png",964,642,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10.png",964,642,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10-150x150.png",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10-300x200.png",300,200,true],"large":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10.png",800,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10.png",964,642,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/image-10.png",964,642,false]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/author\/administrator\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":"<a href=\"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/category\/sindrome\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Sindrome<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"(Migraine, Occipital Neuralgia, Trigeminal Neuralgia and other forms of chronic facial pain) When Pain Affects the Head&#8230; Or Face Chronic head or facial pain can have a profound impact on quality of life. In some cases, these are recurring migraines, in others, intense and sudden neuralgias. It is important to recognize the precise cause of&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3434"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3434\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4152,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3434\/revisions\/4152"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tidolore.ch\/staging\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}