What is infra-orbital neuralgia?
Infra-orbital neuralgia is a painful disorder of the infra-orbital nerve, which may be damaged or not function properly.
Causes
The disorder may be caused by an accident (a fracture of the eye socket), an inflammation (inflammation of the maxillary sinus), complications after an operation to the maxillary sinus, tumours of the nerve and other, as yet unknown causes.
Signs and symptoms
The main complaint is usually a unilateral pain in the cheek, upper teeth and upper jaw. The pain is sometimes triggered by shaving and is of the neuropathic type. The complaints often resemble those caused by inflammation of the maxillary sinus.
How is infra-orbital neuralgia diagnosed?
The diagnosis can be made on the basis of the nature of the complaints and by excluding other possible causes. Sometimes the cause is found by means of neurological examination and/or an examination by an ear, nose and throat specialist.
Do I need additional examinations?
- Diagnostic examination for other non-physical factors important for your pain, have already been done by yourself trough filling out your pain questionnaires.
- CT scan of the sinus or possibly an MRI scan if other causes are suspected.
- A diagnostic test block of the infra-orbital nerve can be used to confirm the diagnosis.
What are my treatment possibilities?
Multidisciplinary Treatment
Depending on the cause of your pain, your pain specialist will decide whether or not to embark on physical treatment. Based on the results of the completed pain questionnaire, additional examinations can be carried out and, apart from physical treatment, other methods of treatment will be suggested.
Non-physical Treatments
If the results of your pain questionnaire are abnormal, your pain specialist will offer you one of the non-physical treatments listed below:
Physical Treatments
Medication
Interventional Pain Treatments