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The Nerve of it all
Neuralgia is pain in a nerve pathway. Generally, neuralgia isn't an illness in its own right, but a symptom of injury or a particular disorder. Older people are most susceptible, but people of any age can be affected. Specifically, it affects the peripheral nerves (those outside of the brain and spine), blocking sensory and motor functions, with pronounced symptoms. Almost everyone will experience mild neuralgia at some point, but these bouts are usually temporary and tend to ease by themselves within a few days. Some types of neuralgia are longer lasting, debilitating and so agonizing that a person's quality of life is severely reduced. In many cases, the cause of the pain is not known. This is an important factor in the context of how Bowen therapy does not require diagnosis to activate the body’s response to a crisis. Symptoms of neuralgia include localized pain, sensitivity to touch, sharp, throbbing or burning pain and muscle spasm. The muscle response can be another source of the unknown. Did the nerve affect the muscle or did the muscle affect the nerve first? Ultimately they both become elements in the pain/spasm/pain loop of irritation.
Trigeminal neuralgia, the most common type of neuralgia, also known as tic douloureux, is a condition that usually affects only one side of the face. The trigeminal nerve supplies various areas of the face, including the cheeks and jaw. Trigeminal neuralgia is characterized by sudden jolts of shooting pain. The Bowen TMJ (temperomandibular joint) procedure is at the core of addressing the trigeminal nerve in a completely non invasive and effective manner.
Occipital neuralgia is the irritation of the main nerve that runs from the back of the skull. This type of headache or pain is dull, throbbing and localized to the back of the head and sometimes by referral to the forehead. It is suspected that tense muscles or ligaments press against the nerve, causing irritation, inflammation and subsequent pain. Other causes may include viral infection, trauma to the neck or bad posture. Bowen is not a hit or miss proposition like many drugs that target a very specific element in a system. Rather it alerts the body to find and correct the cause, then defuse symptoms and compensations wherever they exist.
Neuritis is a complex process involving inflammation of the nerves, resulting in irritation that interferes with normal nerve function and the areas served. Symptoms can include numbness, tingling weakness or paralysis along with the pain of neuralgia. Some causes of neuritis include: Shingles, the inflammation of a nerve, caused by infection with the herpes virus. This common type of neuralgia is known as post-herpetic neuralgia. The pain may linger long after the shingles rash has disappeared, particularly in areas of the face. Infection - the nerve can be irritated by nearby infection, such as a tooth abscess. Pressure or injury - broken bones, slipped vertebral discs, connective tissue or tumors can press on and irritate a nerve.
Sciatic neuritis or Sciatica - If you notice a burning pain or numbness and tingling that runs down the back side of your leg sometimes even to the toes, you may have an inflammation of the sciatic nerve.
When sciatica comes on gradually, it is often due to inflammation caused by an infection such as a virus or by the effects of poor circulation to the nerve or the deteriorating effects of diabetes. The gradual development of arthritis along the lower part of the spine, or a bump or pressure anywhere along the course of the nerve in the back of the leg can activate irritation. Spasm in hip rotator muscles is also a common cause. It is rarely due to a joint being out of place such as the sacroiliac or lumbosacral joints which is why chiropractic is not always a successful approach. Bowenwork not only addresses structurally anomalies but all organic considerations as well.
Mild cases can come and go and may recur unexpectedly over a long period of time without ever becoming severe. Spells that come suddenly and that are severe will make virtually any position very painful. In such cases as these, there is a good chance a disc has bulged or ruptured demanding immediate attention. But even then Bowen procedures will enhance the recovery process if surgery is required.
RSD - Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy or CRPS Complex Regional Pain Syndrome is a condition of extreme nerve irritation that is often brought about by acute trauma or surgery. It is persistent, burning pain with hypersensitivity, it has a tendency to spread and is said to be incurable. I have worked with two cases of this syndrome recently and both have had noticeable relieve with improved life quality and enhanced ability to function from Bowenwork application.
Diagnosis requires testing. In my contact with thousands of clients over the last 15 years (Greg Kennedy) it is my experience that doctors are quick to order up nerve induction tests. NCS (nerve conduction study) is done with electrodes attached to the surface of the skin and the sending of electrical impulses of varying degrees between them to determine speed and strength of signal. Often the nerve conduction test is followed by electromyography (EMG) which involves needles being placed into the muscle and you contracting that muscle. This can be very uncomfortable during the test, and you will feel muscle soreness at the site of the needles afterwards as well. When it is all over a piece of paper is produced and tada you have x% of nerve damage. But are you any closer to actually doing something to improve it. Albeit, technology has allowed us to get an early handle on some otherwise dreadful diseases, I fear that beauracracy has pushed doctors to rely on pigeon holing individuals strictly by the numbers and not seeing the wholistic picture of each individual. I say let your body have a shot at self repair with Bowen activation before reliance on the machines.
Traditional medical methods of neuralgia and neuritis treatment include pain-killing medications such as aspirin or codeine; anticonvulsant medications to treat the pain and muscle spasms, antidepressants in some cases; surgery to desensitize the nerve and block pain messages; physical therapy and chiropractic if spinal alignment is the issue.
Bowenwork addresses all the manifestations of neuralgia and neuritis, whether coming from disease, inflammation, compression, poor circulation, arthritis, even disc issues. It assists control of inflammation and infection through its enhancement of lymphatic flow and the boosting of the immune system. Bowenwork addresses structural problems of compression and arthritis by helping the body remember and restore optimal functional relations.
In applications throughout the world Bowenwork has proven to be so successful in addressing these issues that the conditions may be completely relieved. If you are suffering from nerve pain, there is now something available that is a safe, painless, non-invasive way to activate your system’s best defense and most rapid recovery capacity. It works alone and with all medications to enhance your bodies healing response. Above all, include Bowen in your plan of care the next time you hear, “I don’t know what is causing that pain”.
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