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January 30, 2025, By Virginia TMJ Facial Pain and Sleep Center
Everyday tasks like speaking, smiling, and even swallowing get difficult due to facial pain. Finding relief is crucial, regardless of whether pain is brought on by migraines, TMJ difficulties, or nerve problems. But, there’s a quick, non-surgical way to reduce pain and return to normal function and that is therapeutic injection.
A technique that decreases inflammation, inhibits pain signals and relaxes tense muscles. Does this seem too good to be true? Let’s see how this works and why they can be the ultimate solution you’ve been seeking!
How Therapeutic Injections Work On Face Pain?
By focusing on the muscles, nerves, or joints causing discomfort, therapeutic injections can treat both acute and chronic facial pain. These injections function by preventing the brain from receiving pain signals and reducing inflammation in afflicted areas, relaxing hyperactive muscles that cause tension or spasms, and enhancing blood flow to help with healing.
These minimally invasive pain management techniques range from nerve blocks for trigeminal neuralgia to Botox for TMJ pain.
Types of Therapeutic Injections
Doctors may suggest various injection types based on the cause and intensity of your pain:
- Botox Injections for TMJ Pain and Muscle Tension
Botox isn’t limited to treating wrinkles! Additionally, it can TMJ discomfort by relaxing jaw muscles, lessen migraines & chronic headaches, and help with bruxism (tooth grinding).
Within the first week of treatment, Botox injections reduce TMJ-related discomfort by 90%, according to the American Academy of Facial Aesthetics.
- Injections of Nerve Block for Neuropathic Pain
These injections help with illnesses like postherpetic neuralgia (pain following shingles), trigeminal neuralgia (sharp, electric-like face pain), and cluster headaches by numbing the nerves that cause pain with anesthetic or steroids.
- Injections of Corticosteroids for Inflammation of the Joints
These are perfect for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) inflammation or facial pain associated with arthritis. They offer long-term comfort by decreasing edema and better movement of the jaw.
- Injections of Hyaluronic Acid for TMJ Conditions
By lubricating the jaw joint, these injections help reduce clicking and stiffness in TMJ problems and make both talking and chewing more comfortable.
What To Anticipate Both During & Following The Process?
The process of injecting is short and causes very little discomfort.
- Before it starts, the physician will evaluate your level of pain and choose the appropriate injection type.
- Following the treatment, there may be some minor swelling or bruising, but these should go away in a few days.
- While injecting, a small needle is used to target the infected area, occasionally guided by ultrasound or imaging.
Time to recover? The majority of patients resume their regular activities right away or within a day.
You don’t have to put up with continuous facial pain. With therapeutic injection, you can easily receive a fast, efficient, and non-surgical solution to get rid of that. Visit our doctor right away if facial pain is preventing you from moving forward. Why hold off? Make an appointment today!