The management of craniofacial pain in a pain relief unit

This paper reports the results of 34 craniofacial pain sufferers who were treated at the Dudley Pain Relief Unit over a 1-year period. Most of the patients were referred by their general medical practitioners. They were adults representing all age groups, with a female-male ratio of 4:1. The average history of pain was 5.5 years. Neuralgic pain (as distinct from temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome, migrainous disorders, and pain of iatrogenic origin) was most frequently seen. Oral drug therapy, local injection of corticosteroids and analgesics, peripheral neurolysis, magnetotherapy, hypnotherapy, and acupuncture were the lines of management available. By the end of this study period, pain had been relieved or eliminated in 30 of the patients (88%).