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Trigeminal neuralgia in wind musicians.
1Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Florida 32224, USA.
Headache
|October 17, 2006
Summary
Musical performance can trigger trigeminal neuralgia (TN) in musicians. Playing wind instruments activates facial muscles, leading to perioral pain in TN patients.
Area of Science:
- Neurology
- Otolaryngology
- Music Medicine
Background:
- Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a chronic pain condition affecting the trigeminal nerve.
- Facial pain in TN is often triggered by stimuli like touch, temperature, or movement.
- Wind musicians are susceptible to various occupational health issues.
Observation:
- Three cases of TN patients experiencing pain during musical performance are presented.
- Playing instruments requiring embouchure (clarinet, saxophone, flute, piccolo, trombone, whistling) activated trigger zones.
- Pain was consistently located periorally, irrespective of the affected trigeminal nerve division.
Findings:
- Embouchure muscle activation during wind instrument performance can precipitate trigeminal neuralgia.
- Perioral trigger zones were identified in all reported cases.
- The specific trigeminal nerve division involved did not alter the perioral pain location.
Implications:
- Trigeminal neuralgia poses a significant challenge for wind instrument musicians.
- Understanding these specific triggers is crucial for diagnosis and management in affected musicians.
- Further research into the neuro-muscular mechanisms underlying this phenomenon is warranted.
