Q I came because of facial spasm, but my headaches are severe too. Are they related?
A Yes. Headaches frequently accompany facial spasm in patients. Facial nerve irritation can excite the neural pathways connected to the trigeminal nerve, or the continuous contraction of the facial muscles can tense the temporalis and masseter muscles, triggering a tension-type headache.
Detailed Answer
The facial nerve and the trigeminal nerve are located close together in the brainstem and influence each other. When facial spasm causes the facial muscles to contract continuously, tension in the temporalis, masseter, and occipital muscles also rises, making it easy to develop a tension-type headache that tightens around the whole head. In addition, the continuous tension and anxiety about the spasm itself overactivate the sympathetic nervous system and bring on headaches. At our head-and-face clinic in the Dongincheon area of Incheon, many people report facial spasm and headache together, so we have rich experience in combined treatment.
Korean Medicine Clinic Perspective
When heat accumulates and rises in the head and face (sangyeol), facial spasm and headache stem from the same root. Using cheongsang treatment to lower the heat in the head and face and to remove blood stasis produces the effect of managing both headache and facial spasm together. Rather than treating two separate conditions individually, we integrate the management of the underlying causal environment.
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