Pericranial Allodynia and headache…

I just had another chronic headache patient whose symptoms were reproduced with zygomaticus major palpation, and relieved with treatment of the same structure…so I thought it might be a good idea to re-post this one….

Often forgotten in the assessment of head pain are trigger’s coming from tissues of the face.  Such triggers can stem from chronic head pain leading to sensitization of the 7th cranial nerve.  Alternatively, these triggers may be the causative factor of head pain as studies show that habitual facial expressions can lead to chronic headache.  The most frequently occurring expressions in chronic headache sufferers include furrowed eyebrows, closed eyes, slow eye blinks, lip pursuing, facial grimacing, and flat facial affect.

Whether it be a cause or effect, ‘Pericranial Allodynia’ is found in the majority of head pain sufferers (Calandre, European Journal of Neurology, 2006).

Here are some commonly forgotten trigger points for your review.  Palpation and treatment of these and other tissues of the Head & Face are covered in the Functional Anatomic Palpation Systems™ and Functional Range Release™ ‘SPINE’ seminars:

Occipitalis

Frontalis

Orbicularis Oculi

Levator labii superioris

Zygomaticus Major

Buccinator

 FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY SEMINARS.com