Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks have many uses including treating and preventing severe headaches, migraines, cluster headaches and TMJ disorders but they also have many other areas of use.
Many remote effect syndromes are regulated by the autonomic nervous system Sometimes, the patients are diagnosed as having “psychosomatic issues” which is very unfair to patients.
The Psychosomatic diagnosis arises when the Physician cannot find the connections between patients complaints and underlying causes. These are often Autonomic Nervous System issue.
The use of Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks (SPG)to treat remote disorders has over 100 year history and as new medical findings are made understanding grows about the underlying connections. Sphenopalatine blocks can be administered in many ways but Self-Administered SPG Blocks are one of the most successful and practical approaches that improves patients quality of life and reduces visits to physician offices and ER departments.
Anxiety is usually related to excessive sympathetic activity, ie the Fight or Flight reflex and SPG Blocks not only can turn off anxiety and stress but can also have positive effects on related problems like hives.
Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and biofeedback is often used to treat these disorders successfully but that does not rule out real underlying issues.
Muscle Spasm in the Neck, Shoulders and Back and Fibromyalgia in general is one of the issues that Integrative medicine doctors will often refer for CBT. This can also be treated with in many patients with SPG Blocks. Often there are multiple causes for the pain but treatment with SPG Blocks are still successful. The following video is of a disabled Israeli Veteran who had severe injuries and multiple surgeries as well as an implanted neurostimulation device but the SPG Block almost instantly reduced his pain. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lvBh4oBZfE
Additional Videos on SPG Blocks on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/SPGBlocks/
Another common issue often related to stress is Hypertension or High Blood Pressure which is a serious and sometimes life threatening condition. Essential Hypertension means there are no other underlying issues causing the hypertension. New studies have shown that about 1/3 of essential hypertension can be eliminated with SPG Blocks. Please see a comprehensive blog post on essential hypertension. https://www.sphenopalatineganglionblocks.com/essential-hypertension-breakthrough-bilateral-sphenopalatine-ganglion-blocks-reduce-blood-pressure/
Asthma, and many sinus and ENT issues will also respond to SPG Blocks. A great deal of gut issues and intestinal disorders also respond to these autonomic blocs.
Sphenopalatine Ganglion is also called the Nasal Ganglion, Meckel’s Ganglion, Sluders Ganglion and the Pterygopaltine Ganglion. It can be blocked witheither intra-oral or extra-oral injections or by commercial nasal catheters such as Allevio, Sphenocath or TX360. The use of cotton-tipped nasal catheters for self-administration has distinct advantages to patients including increased success rates, decreased office visits, patient control to use SPG Blocks prophylactally and ability to use ASAP when symptoms begin.
Please see pubmed abstract on this issue:
Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 1979 Aug;60):353-9.
Sphenopalatine (nasal) ganglion: remote effects including “psychosomatic” symptoms, rage reaction, pain, and spasm.
Abstract
Many articles implicate the nasal ganglion in the production of remote symptoms and discuss treatment. Symptoms are primarily spastic, involving both visceral and voluntary muscles including muscle spasm in the neck, shoulder, and low back; asthma, hypertension, intestinal spasm; diarrhea, angina pectoris, uterine spasm; intractable hiccup, and many others. All these symptoms appear to have 2 common denominators. They are mediated by the autonomic nervous system and at least in some instances can be “psychosomatic.” The sphenopalatine ganglion (SPG) is a major autonomic ganglion located superficially in the pterygopalatine fossa, with major afferent distribution to the entire nasopharynx and important connections with the trigeminal nerve, facial nerve, internal carotid artery plexus of the sympathetic nervous system and, as shown in the rat, direct connection with the anterior pituitary gland. This paper presents arguments supporting the following hypotheses: 1. The SPG probably has a crucial role in lower animals in declenching the reflex responses known collectively as the rage reaction. 2. The SPG is a major point of entry to the autonomic system exposed to pathologic influences and readily accessible for therapeutic influences and readily accessible for therapeutic intervention. 3. A wide variety of symptoms are produced or maintained by alteration in autonomic system tonus and some of these may be affected by intervention on the SPG. 4. The possible relationship of some symptoms and “psychosomatic” conditions to the autonomic nervous system and the rage reaction must be considered.20.