Patients seeing our chiropractor for trigeminal neuralgia in Alabang often ask if stress can trigger or worsen their symptoms. After all, people living in Metro Manila often have to cope with stressors like traffic jams, crowded malls and groceries, and pollution. So, is there a link between trigeminal neuralgia and stress? Moreover, what types of stressors can aggravate trigeminal neuralgia symptoms?
Stress and Trigeminal Neuralgia: Explaining Their Connection
Stress is a co-factor of about 95 percent of illnesses. It can also worsen various conditions, including trigeminal neuralgia, because it induces an inflammatory response and weakens the body’s ability to heal damaged tissues. Furthermore, stress can increase pain sensitivity, leaving you more affected by trigeminal neuralgia symptoms.
As a result, learning about stress and how to overcome it have become the fundamental principles of the holistic technique practiced by our chiropractor for trigeminal neuralgia in Alabang.
But what exactly is stress? Most people assume that stress only happens because of things such as:
- Missing the last MRT ride
- Getting stuck in a traffic jam
- Failing to get inside the mall because you forgot your vaccination card
- Not having enough budget to get through the day
- Navigating a financial crisis
- Grieving for a lost loved one
In truth, stress can affect you in more ways than you can imagine because it comes in many forms. Let’s take a closer look at the four categories of stress factors:
Psychological stress
Psychological stress stems from things that affect your emotion and mental wellbeing. This could include resentments, guilt, self-loathing, anxiety, and jealousy. It could also develop when you constantly question your beliefs, roles, and opinion about the things around you.
Psychosocial stress
Psychosocial stress covers all the factors that involve your relationships, such as failed marriages, family conflicts, office politics, and lack of social support. It also includes the things that threaten your social status, like your employment, sources of livelihood, and home foreclosure.
Physical stress
Unknown to a lot of people, stress can also manifest through physical means such as neck trauma, head injury, over-exertion of the body during a workout, physical labor, and environmental pollution. Other physical stressors such as illnesses, hormonal problems, dietary changes, and dental challenges can aggravate conditions like trigeminal neuralgia. Physical stress could also mean chewing hard food or talking for hours if you live with trigeminal neuralgia.
Psycho-spiritual stress
Psycho-spiritual stress is the least known stress factor. It refers to situations when you feel stuck in a rut. It causes you to question your choices and motives, so you feel unsatisfied with your achievements or efforts.
How to Cope with Stress to Lessen Trigeminal Neuralgia Flare-ups
Learning how to manage your stressors can make a huge difference in your life, especially in preventing trigeminal neuralgia flare-ups. So, it would be best to start listing all your sources of stress. Then, you can try finding ways to manage them. You can also practice the following techniques, such as:
- Eating soft food to avoid straining your jaws and facial muscles
- Exercising for a few minutes a day to release the body’s natural painkillers
- Avoiding situations that might lead to jaw clenching or teeth grinding
- Wearing a mouth guard before you sleep
- Not eating chewy food items like gum, beef, toffee, gummy candies, and caramel
- Finding reasons to smile and laugh by watching TV shows, stand-up comedy shows, etc.
Other Proven Ways to Manage Trigeminal Neuralgia
Trigeminal neuralgia can wreak havoc on your mental and physical wellbeing. There may be days when the pain becomes too unbearable, and you can’t do anything but curl up in your bed and cry until the pain fades. You might also have moments where you have to pretend that you’re okay because you have to complete tasks at work.
Thankfully, even if the condition causes crippling pain, there are numerous ways you can cope and lead a happy life. Below are the best ways you can manage your trigeminal neuralgia symptoms:
- Undergoing rhizotomy, a surgical procedure that removes the nerve tissues that cause the pain
- Opting for microvascular decompression
- Taking trigeminal neuralgia medications
- Using prescription drugs designed to lessen pain transmission signals
- Visiting a chiropractor for trigeminal neuralgia in Alabang for neck adjustments
Recover with the Help of a Chiropractor for Trigeminal Neuralgia in Alabang
It isn’t easy to live with trigeminal neuralgia because even the most trivial things like smiling at someone can cause intense pain. But, by practicing the tips we listed above and seeking upper cervical care, you can curb your symptoms.
Many patients opt for an upper cervical chiropractic adjustment because it helps restore balance in the body. Furthermore, it alleviates pressure on the trigeminal nerve bundle by easing the neck bones to align with the body’s central axis. Addressing the neck bone misalignments through chiropractic adjustments also ensures that your brainstem and nervous system can communicate well with the rest of your body. This can improve your recovery process and lessen your pain sensitivity.
We recommend having your C1 and C2 bones examined by our chiropractor for vertebral subluxation. This way, you can find out if upper cervical chiropractic can help you. After all, upper cervical chiropractic is a practical and sustainable approach to improving trigeminal neuralgia symptoms.
Visit N8 Upper Cervical Chiropractic and consult our chiropractor for trigeminal neuralgia in Alabang. Fill out our web form to arrange an appointment.
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