The Sphenopalatine Ganglion (also known as Nasal Ganglion, Pterygopalatine Ganglion, Sluder’s Ganglion and Meckel’s Gangliion) is the largest Parasympathetic Ganglion of the head. While it is a Parasympathetic Ganglion it also carries Sympathetic Fibers from the Superior Sympathetic Cervical Chain and Somato-Sensory Nerves of the Trigeminal Nerve and the Facial Nerve.
It was originally described in 1908 by Dr Greenfeld Sluder fort he treatment of Sluder’s Neuralgia, also called Pterygopalatine Gangliion Neuralgia and Sphenopalatine Ganglion Neuralgia. It is now thought that he was actually describing a Trigeminal Autonomic Cephalgia (TAC), most likely Cluster Headache or a Tempormandibular Dysfunction. Costen diid not describe TMJ disorders until 1934.
The Trigeminal Nerve is often called the Dentist’s Nerve and it is the primary cause or source of all headaches, migraines, TACs regardless of the specific diagnosis.
the Myomonitor was originally invented by Dr Bernard Jankelson who was looking to help his wife’s treatment of MS, Multiple Sclerosis. It is the basis for all of Neuromuscular Dentistry and has an incredible safety record that is over 50 years. Neuromuscular Dentistry is incredibly successful in elimination of a wide variety of headaches, TACS and migraines when utilized in conjunction with a Diagnostic Neuromuscular Orthotic. The uniqueness of the Myomonitor is it’s use of ULF-TENS to relax muscles utilizing a single synapse reflex and an Anti-Dromic pulse.
The Myomonitor effectively serve as a Sphenopalatine Ganglion Neuromodulation Device that does not require surgical implantation. The Parasympathetic and Sympathetic fibers travel with the branches of the Trigeminal and Facial Nerves.
The Myomonitor works with three electrodes, two are placed over the coronoid notch to allow access to the maxillary division of the Trigeminal Nervous System which gives access to the entire Trigeminal Nervous System. The third electrode is the input to the other two electrodes and is placed on the neck. The current also passes thru the occipital nerve, both the greater and lesser occipital nerves and possibly the vagus nerve as well.
These are all areas that use Neuromodulation for treating Headaches, Migraines, TACs and TMD /MPD disorders.
Neuromodulation works similarly to Sphenopalatine Ganglion Blocks as a reset of the nervous system similar to rebooting your computer when it is not working correctly. Self-Administered SPG Blocks is probably the most effective approach among available modalities.
Below is a new PubMed Abstract on the use of Neurostimulatiion for treating Chronic Migraines and Cluster Headache. This paper includes use of Sphenopalatine Ganglion Neuromodulation which has been done for 50 years with the Myomonitor.
Reading this new work it is easy to understand why Neuromuscular Dentists have been so successful in treating TMJ disorders as well as a full spectrum of headache types.
Neurostimulation for the treatment of chronic migraine and cluster headache.
Abstract
Small subsets of patients who fail to respond to pharmacological treatment may benefit from alternative treatment methods. In the last decade, neurostimulation is being explored as a potential treatment option for the patients with chronic, severely disabling refractory primary headaches. To alleviate pain, specific nerves and brain areas have been stimulated, and various methods have been explored: deep brain stimulation, occipital nerve stimulation, and sphenopalatine ganglion stimulation are among the more invasive ones, whereas transcranial magnetic stimulation and supraorbital nerve stimulation are noninvasive. Vagal nerve stimulation can be invasive or noninvasive, though this review included only data for noninvasive VNS. Most of these methods have been tested in small open-label patient series; recently, more data from randomized, controlled, and blinded studies are available. Although neurostimulation treatments have demonstrated good efficacy in many studies, it still has not been established as a standard treatment in refractory patients. This review analyzes the available evidence regarding efficacy and safety of different neurostimulation modalities for the treatment of chronic migraine and cluster headache.