Some Alternative Medicine/Therapies (Part 1: Non-traditional Medicine or Treatment) for Facial Pain, Trauma, and Dystonia

PART 1: NON-TRADITIONAL MEDICINE OR TREATMENTS

Happy post-day-of-Halloween! Here are a couple of things that may possibly support the recovery process for various facial ailments such as TMJ, Nerve Damage, Muscle Tears, Bell's Palsy, and Focal Embouchure Dystonia.

Again! These do not cure, nor is there any guarantee that this will help you. There is research on some of the methods applied to specific issues, for example - Bell's Palsy and Acupuncture, which can be found online.

However, embouchure dystonia doesn't leave you with many options, and when there is no known cure, one cannot help but do what is natural and test/observe various treatments through trial and error in the hopes of finding a small glimmer of hope.

It is important to realize that there are few musicians with dystonia that go out on a limb and share their personal process and do trial and error publicly. It is important to share the process, even if it cannot be applied to all. It is my hopes to bring more awareness of this disorder and provide a rare look at what this disorder can be like by sharing my own experiences. Although my experience is subjective, I am someone who thinks objectively, therefore I posted the statement above.

•  Acupuncture, provides blood flow/circulation to specific areas and activates the nerves. I received acupuncture for once a week, for a year. It wasn't until about my 15th session I started to feel and notice drastic improvement in reduced tension overall in my face. It cost about $65.00 a session, and my acupuncturist had a passion for helping people with facial trauma.
  
  She had previously helped many people overcome Bell's Palsy, Nerve Damage from car accidents or injuries, etc. She also was certified in John F. Barnes Myofascial Therapy, so that was also included in my sessions.
  
  Just a note of caution though: I did find that the acupuncture made my nerves in my face very overly sensitive and it took about 2 years to fully wear off. At times it limited me from playing because my muscles were so loose (like jelly) and my muscles/nerves could only handle so much playing. I had to be very careful when working on my playing. I also would not suggest playing at all if you are receiving re-ocurring acupuncture treatments because the acupuncture is actually quite exhausting on the face because it is bringing in so much blood flow to a centralized area. Most acupuncturists will tell you to drink lots of water and to rest a lot after receiving treatment.
  
  I also would say that if you are going to try acupuncture, to consider doing as a last resort. Although I felt it helped me in the long-run, it was scary how overly sensitive my muscles and nerves became. The best example I can give is if you received a muscle relaxer. It feels great and there's not tension whatsoever left, but you're also left with no endurance, strength, and the muscles and nerves are much more sensitive to playing and get twice as sore. So please be careful. Maybe don't do a years worth of acupuncture and only do it 2 times a month or not every month.

• *Oral Myofascial Release (MFR), which released built up/rigid connective tissue or fascia in the jaw-joint and muscles surrounding the face. My acupuncturist was a specialist in John F. Barnes technique of MFR, which is a much gentler approach to releasing the tissue tension than the traditional way. Typically they will wear a glove and push their fingers against pressure points inside of your mouth (in the cheek or back of jaw) and they hold it for 2-6 minutes until the tissue releases; this is highly painful but extremely relieving afterwards.When I think of the jaw-joint, I compare it to the wrist-joint. A lot of woodwind players or typist get carpel tunnel, which is connective tissue built up in the wrist. The same thing can happen to our jaw-joint...it too can build connective tissue and cause our jaw to be unaligned, in pain, cause TMJ, or build more tension.
  
• *Rolfing - I haven't received rolfing, but wanted to list it here. It is very similar to myofascial release to an extent. It is a holistic system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organizes the whole body in gravity. It is essentially identical to structural integration. The difference between myofascial release is the cumulative process over ten session. Althogh myofascial release techniques derived form the work of Ida Rolf, it does not have the same strategic planning as rolfing. The various parts of the human body relate synergistically to each other, therefore rolfing integrates the whole body or various parts of the body, rather than focusing on one central area.
  
  *I've listed Myofascial Release and Rolfing also on my blog post over Body Movement Methods too. Since it crosses over into that area as well.

• TENS unit, which sends electric pulses that interfere with the signal of pain being sent to the brain, it stimulates the nerves and endorphins, and helps control pain. This allows the muscles to relax instead of being in a state of contraction all the time (which dystonia causes our muscles to be in a state of chronic contraction...therefore the TENS helps me a lot). I use to receive a light does of TENS unit or electromagnetic therapy in acupuncture, but it wasn't until I started seeing a neuromuscular dentist that I used a heavier dose of TENS unit therapy which helped me tremendously. Now I  even have my own TENS unit at home after borrowing a friends for a while...decided I needed to invest in one for long-term relief.
  
  I feel like the TENS unit is more effective than acupuncture in relieving tension. Acupuncture was too over the top. Whereas TENS unit I can control the strength of output, and it doesn't overly-relax my face to the point of weakness. It helps relieve the right amount of tension. It takes time to get use to knowing how to use it and works best.

• Po Sum On Oil, which can help with many ailments, including neuralgia. It provides deep muscle pain relief, headache relief, etc. It consists of Peppermint Oil 45%, Dragon's blood 1%, Cinnamon oil 1.5%, Camellia oil 100%, and Methanol 15%. It only cost about 6 bucks or more for a little bottle which will last forever. 

• Ice packing/Heat packing. Alternating the two is highly important! Sometimes I will drink hot tea instead of heat packing, and then apply ice pack between drinks. I'll hold the tea in my mouth so that it warms up all my muscles.

• Facial Muscle Stretches. i.e. Making certain facial expressions or movements to help relieve tension. I have various names for them too like duck lips/goldfish lips, the scrunchy face, the clown-frown, the angry brow, marshmellow cheeks, the horror screamer, the side-grin, etc. 

• TMJ Jaw Stretches. i.e. Specific jaw stretches that help the mandibular joint. (I'll try to find a link to post on here of some stretches I use)....also buying a mouthguard may help relieve jaw pressure, even if you don't have TMJ.
  
• Tongue Stretches

• Neck and upper back stretches, which help relieve tension and keep the muscles flexible in the neck and upper back. (I posted a link somewhere in one of my posts on the stretches I use, I'll try to find it and repost it here)....this is important because the neck and shoulder muscles DO pull on the jaw muscles. They are all connected and work together. Think big picture! :-)

• Taking off as much external pressure on your upper body as you can. Ex. Not wearing backpacks, heavy instrument cases, non-supportive or constricting bras that may dig too far into the shoulder, baby slings, avoiding lifting heavy things that require the shoulders or upper back. If you have pain at all on a certain side of your face, avoid sleeping on that side. If you have clenching problems with your jaw, avoid putting any pressure on the bottom of the chin/jaw when sleeping and practice holding the tip of your tongue in between your upper and lower teeth...this takes the pressure off the jaw immediately. Even if keeping your hair down and not pulled back it into a bun helps lessen muscle constriction on the face/head, then do it. 

• Taking daily vitamins - keep your body provided with enough nutrients. I take women's one-a-day, and also GinkoSmart, and sometimes Fish Oil. There's also men's-one-a-day. It just depends on what your body needs or what you think will help boost your nutrients. It can even be in the form of a shake.
  I also write a blog on natural supplements.

I'm hoping to come back and add more to this post, because there's quit a bit more detailed information I'd like to share about each area. But for now, if you google any of the things I listed, you should find a wealth of information. 

Berklee College of Music: A New Understanding of Overuse Injuries by Dr. William F. Brady, D.C.

I just had to share this amazing find! It is an article titled: A New Understanding of Overuse Injuries by Dr. William F. Brady, D.C. Please read the article linked, because it provides a new way of looking at overuse injuries or repetitive strain. I highly recommend it.

I find this highly fascinating because my acupuncturist and myofascial therapist told me a similar thing when I went in for treatment. She said that part of my problem was built up connective tissue in the back of my jaw. She felt around my face and the inside of my mouth (I know, weird) and said I had an overwhelming amount of it.

So I basically went under several months of myofascial release therapy where she released the connective tissue from the inside of my mouth by using pressure. The connective tissue started in the middle of my cheek and went back deep into my jaw and even as far back as the corner of my lower jaw. Equally important is we worked a lot on releasing tissue and tension around my whole upper body, and predominantly around my neck.

Many other forms of therapy such as rolfing and feldenkrais use similar methods of helping the body release tension. It was very very very painful releasing the tissue. But! It was definitely needed and it actually changed the way my face looked and felt (my right side of my lip and face looks more equal to my left now without the upper lip pulling back and upwards on that side, which gave me a weird appearance). I wish I had known about it before, even as a non-injured musician in the past! A professional European horn player told me that he also received this, even if he isn't injured because it's important to take care of the body. Warming-up is always not enough.

We have to treat our bodies like athletes, even if it's use of smaller muscles. A lot more goes into playing than we give credit because we are not aware, and tension can build up over the years....and not necessarily because we're doing anything wrong, but because it is natural. Some people can take a beating for years and years and not feel anything, whereas others are more prone to overuse because of their physical makeup, or even genetics in the case of onset of dystonia.

We just have to take extra measures that are not traditional to keep check on tension....which is hard to do since most often injuries sneak up on us and slowly degenerate our ability over time before we are even aware of it.

Also a lot more muscles come into play than we know. Most brass musicians consider their embouchure as only the use of the muscles around the lips, and never understand the actual anatomy or function of the muscles in the face (where the muscles connect to, what each on initiates) and that the neck and upper back muscles make a great impact on your playing too, since they tie into the facial muscles and nerves around the jaw.

Additional notes: Thank you to Scott King, DC for getting in touch with me! If any injured musicians are in the Denver/Colorado area and looking for soft tissue diagnosis and treatment, Scott is available and has trained with Dr. Brady who wrote the article I shared above. I offered to share his contact information below:

Scott King, DC
Novo Soft Tissue & Spine

720 S Colorado Blvd Ste 610S

Denver, Co 80246

(303) 990-0159

May Video Blog

This video was done on a whim, but I think I covered a couple improvements in the short amount of time filmed. Next time I'll use a tripod. haha! Will try get on here when can. :)

April 5th Acupuncture Update!

I have some pretty awesome news! Now that the tissue around my back, shoulders, and neck have been loosened up (combined with daily stretching exercises, an item/technique given, and some pain relief stuff), the pathways that run up into my face are now open. I don't know the terminology.

Before they had to do acupuncture right on the face, and around my face, but no matter how many needles they put further away ...like in my arms, hands, feet, or even behind my ears or on my neck never made a difference before...because I had so much blockage from tissue and tension.

However, now they can finally do acupuncture needles in farther away areas like on my hands and feet, etc. and I can feel it in my face!!!! It's such a weird feeling, because I didn't think it was possible for those areas to affect my face, but I could feel the blood current pulsating all the way up into my face, and I could feel my muscles and nerves start to respond.

Last week they put needles in a bunch of places, but what hit me the most was a needle they placed in the side of my hand. They also use to put a needle between my thumb and index and that didn't work for a while, and then one day it was really intense, and I felt the sensation travel down into my wrist. However, this one that was in the side of my hand...nearest the pinky....I felt it in my upper face around my nose, and behind my ears.

What's even more surprising is I could feel some muscle contractions start to flare up in my lips and around my nose, and 3 minutes later all of a sudden they calmed down. In the past it took the whole session to finally see the contractions calm down...and they only calmed down a bit...I could still feel them, just less noticeable. However, this time, the completely calmed down.

For the first time in forever, I tried puckering my lips outward (like a duck face) very slowly and I had NO spasms! Then I tried rolling back my lower lip slowly ...up and back over my teeth, and it didn't spasm at all. The feeling of my face was so drastically different than before too. Different than any other sensation. It felt heavy....like my face was normal. I'm not use to things feeling THAT normal. I couldn't believe the ease of movement in my face without a spasm taking over, or without pain. I could still feel some throbbing around my forehead on the sides, near my ear....but the muscles in my face felt different. It felt heavy....like my movements were stable. STABLE!

I don't know how to describe the feeling of stable. I felt like I was placed in a normal body with a normal face, with normal movements. I also could feel the left corner of my face pull back even further without difficulty when I smiled. Usually when I try to make very slow movements; like doing a sly grin (pulling my left corner of my mouth slowly back and up) there is contractions beneath. Or even when I try to slowly crinkly my nose, my upper lip feels unstable. But for once nothing!!!

I was so shocked that I had to keep looking in the mirror and doing it over and over again, just to see if a spasm would happen. Anywhoo, even though the symptoms started to set in about 4 days later, I was still ecstatic about how long I went without symptoms. I know it can only keep getting better and better from here on.

My acupuncturist asked me how I feel about sessions once a week. I said it was absolutely necessary, and that I noticed the symptoms come back 4 days later...so I want to be consistently addressing it. She said she is proud I am so very aware of my symptoms because not everyone keeps a log of what they feel or when things reoccur or how they arise. Also she agreed every week is best. I told her about how the one time I couldn't get in for 2 weeks and I felt like I was back at ground zero.

My session this previous week was just as good. We did the same treatment, including some work on my back. I was feeling sore around the ridge on the back of my head, behind my ears, and in my right shoulder. I also felt the constant need to squeeze my upper back muscles and neck. The soreness I felt was no longer in a very small specific area as before....for the first time the dull soreness spanned across a greater length of my face; for example from the sides of my nose all the way down into the sides of my chin...whereas before I would usually feel soreness in one or the other, but never tied together. Again, 3-5 minutes into my session the contractions around my face/lips went away.

We'll see how things go this next week. But I'm very happy and surprised with the progress made. It may seem small, but to me it feels worlds different than before. I told my acupuncturist that on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest pain) the pain in most areas is now down a to a 4 or 3, and as far as my spasms/contractions they are also at a 3 or 2 in the larger areas I get them in. Anywhoo, it's so hard to describe what I'm going through, but I still feel the need to write about it. I can definitely feel the nerve going from behind my ear, into the side of my face and up near my cheekbones right now flaring up...but it's been flaring up on and off. However, as the days pass, the consistency of the flare has gone down. I don't feel as sore in so many areas all over now, just in certain areas, but broader ...if that makes sense.

I'm so very happy with it all! I still am on cloud 9 just remembering how my face felt normal for a couple of days. I know that tension in my upper body may be a lifelong battle, but I feel through this experience I am learning how to prepare and protect myself from overusing my muscles and nerves....and most importantly I'm learning how to LISTEN to my body and being highly aware of it's signs and changes given. I feel I understand the complexities of people's physic much more....well...maybe not understand....but respect and am mindblown by the human body and how it functions...and how each individual's form and function varies.

Stretches, Deep Tissue Massage, Myofascial Release, and Horn Playing

Two sessions ago I had some tissue relieved around my back. After that session I had all the soreness and tension move up into primarily my neck. I felt like the contractions around my neck were so strong they were choking me (I'm being overdramatic, but it really did hurt). I could feel a lightening like shock start from the back of my head, run down my neck, and into my shoulder blade and right shoulder. This happened everytime I tried to turn my head to the left. I didn't have tremors, but if I tried to pull my face to the left and hold it there, a spasm would creep up and jerk my head to the right. I knew this feeling in the past....

It felt very similar to my encounter with neck dystonia in the past. I kind of got freaked out. I asked my doctor about it and they said it was definitely a pinched nerve, trapped by the surrounding tissue. We were doing everything we could to release the tissue in the places I felt either pain, soreness, contractions, spasms, or tenderness. But just recently it had flaired up in my neck.

So this week I've had a lot of deep tissue massage to help loosen up the tissue in my back, shoulders, neck, and lower jaw, then combined with acupuncture, and myofascial release. My neck feels so much better now!!! I can still feel the nerve a bit irritated in the right side, but there's definitely been a softening of the tissue. My shoulders and neck have never felt this light, relaxed, and fluid....like butter. My right side is of course still a little tense in areas. 

This most recent acupuncture session was very good. She said there's been a significant break-through. We made great progress. She was working on loosening up the tissue right on that fleshy mound at the back of my neck. She did some type of stretch with my lower jaw and was also pushing on tissue back there, and there was a huge release. We also did a lot of needles around nerve points. My skin has been red for 2-3 days straight now. She said that was normal though and that this is great news because it means the blood circulation is consistent now, and that the pink around my face will go away in time, but for now it is a good sign we hadn't seen before. I also was very lucky to receive a device that will help me at home. 

I'm feeling really good right now. The pain in my face has gone down significantly, and I only feel slight throbbing up near the sides of my eyes along the zygomatic nerve. Otherwise most of my tension and pain is still in my neck and shoulders, but less intense than before...wayyyyy less tense. One a scale of 1-10, my pain before was close to a 9, and now it feels more like a 4 or 5. Again, I'm not playing my horn at all. I'm not allowed to until my body is 100% free of pain, soreness, muscle contractions, and spasms. 

I've also been doing stretches to help with my muscles around my upper back, neck, and shoulders. Here are a couple that help me out a lot (I tried to find them online as best as I could), and have done wonders for me within the last couple of weeks:  

Also this too ---> :) Link: Upper Back Stretches

All Signs Lead to the Source

My last acupuncture session was intense. The week before it, the soreness I felt in my face was most noticeable in my higher cheek bone, the lower jaw closest to that corner/round part of the jaw below the ear but on the corner of the bone (that didn't make an sense at all did it?). I also felt a lightening like shock run from the top of my cheekbone all the way down to the upper corner of my lips. This shock would go off even when I heard a loud noise, or if someone surprised me, I could feel the tingling shock run down my cheekbone. The sides of my chin hurt.

My acupuncturist did some needs around the areas I felt soreness, but also did a bunch on my back...and my god....did I feel the blood start to immediately take over my right back shoulder. I could feel this intense warm feeling that was almost heavy. I could feel my muscles loosing up and a sense of relief....a painful relief if that makes sense. I had never realized how much tension there was in my shoulder. I always knew my shoulders were pretty crappy because I've always had football/quarterback shoulders that are very broad and tense. I always thought it was genetic as I see the exact same shoulders in my biological family.

Anywhoo, after that session the soreness moved from the right side of my shoulder to the left, and I could feel soreness behind my ears and all the way down the back of my neck. I felt part of the back of my jaw on the right side loosen up since the muscles on the back of my right shoulder loosened up or did something. I felt a change. It was somewhat better, but not completely relaxed.....but definitely way better than before.

My acupuncturist/myofascial specialist said that it's normal for winding (what they call what I have in Chinese Medicine) to move around. But it was definitely good that I was finally feeling things in the left side of my face, neck, and shoulder.....whereas my primary symptoms have been on the right side heavily. Therefore the left side is actually the weaker side/non-responsive...and finally we saw a change. I can feel the left side's sensations become just as heavy as the right side....where before like I said it was less noticeable on that side. More than anything acupuncture has made me highly aware of my body even more so. The first couple sessions I didn't notice too much of a change, and the soreness remained in the same areas, but over time I noticed things starting to move around more drastically...like Christmas tree lights that dance to music...that's what I felt like the soreness in my face was doing; just moving all around the place.

This last session my acupuncturist was feeling around my upper body. She's amazing because she can feel and sense where my soreness is...I rarely have to tell her where I'm having problems because she can already tell by just looking at me, or by what she feels. It always blows my mind how much she knows about my facial problems.

Anyways, she was feeling my neck and she said, "Your neck feels like a concrete rock. That's not normal. I bet you this is where your nerve entrapment is really coming from...your neck/shoulder muscles. They are all linked. Plus, you said that in the past you had neck tension problems when younger and you couldn't turn your head to the left and they diagnosed you with another form of dystonia. I believe your neck or upper body tension will always be a chronic problem you need to address. It's probably crept up on you again over the years and affected your face. Also combining that tension with repetitive state of contraction; the way you hold your horn, the muscles being overworked, etc. However, it can be corrected by focusing on better posture, constant care in addressing the tension when it starts, and knowing now where is comes from...in your shoulders and backs, and making sure it doesn't spread any further into your face. When I first saw your spasms in your face, I knew that the source is not always what it seems.

You first felt weakness or a burning/lack of sensitivity in your upper lip, then a dull soreness in the center of your cheeks, then after acupuncture that soreness spread to many different areas of your face, and eventually led to the back of the jaw, then the upper cheekbone, then the lower jaw, then the corners of the mouth, and so forth, and eventually moved to the neck and shoulders, and now the back. Everytime that sore feeling moves, it is like a torch lighting up a pathway that leads to the source. But we can't just work on the source right away...you have to work your way backwards.

I'm guessing what happened is the tension in your back and neck entrapped a nerve, then this led to the muscles in the face having to overwork themselves, this built up tissue in the jaw, and this changed the way your face functions, and eventually led to injury, and pretty soon not only were your facial muscles overworked, but your nerves too, and you're left with a very weak embouchure. No wonder you are experiencing spasms when you play, and now pain. But we have to work our way backwards. We have to loosen up the tissue built up, we have to address where the soreness occurs first around the face. We can address the back and neck at the same time....but you never want to ignore the signs and just address where you think it's coming from. That's just like putting a band-aid on something and hoping it heals all the other areas you feel tension and pain. It's not enough to just relieve tension in one area. All signs lead to the source."

She did some type of ointment on my back and scrapped with something along my shoulders. I felt very relieved after that. More than anything I started to feel more things in my left side than before, which is good!!!! I'm so surprised to feel this. Also she was observing the spasms in my lips when I was showing her my stretches and embouchure formation, and she moved some tissue around my face very gently, and when I tried to do the stretches and embouchure formation again it was completely different...it was less noticeable. The spasms are less noticeable when I form an embouchure, however they are very noticeable when I do the opposite and try to pucker my lips outward  like a duck-face. But I did notice the tension in my corners has now moved more lower and I can feel them when I make a frowning face. Overall things look a lot better and my face looks different!!!!

I haven't played my horn AT ALL. I'm determined not to play my horn until I know my face and upper body is 100% free of tension, soreness, and contractions. This week I've been super aware of my posture and I realize one of my biggest problems is of course that which only a woman gets to experience due to their chest. However, I've been working out a lot to try to take less stress of weight on my body, and I already feel better. Ever since moving here, I've lost a total of 41 pounds! I still have 40-50 to go and I'll reach my target. More than anything I just want to take really good care of my body and help take some stress off. I feel so upset that the source of my dystonia symptoms and my nerve damage may be because of the stress put on my shoulders and neck over the years, and especially the lack of care of taking care of my body and even my face while playing at a high level. But of course when you're younger you think you're invincible, especially when things are going great and on cloud 9 with your performances, etc.

Anywhoo, I'm rambling! That's all the news I have for now. Next session is coming up on Monday, and we're going to do some myofascial release again, as well some more work on my back/shoulders/neck. Wish me luck!!!! I know I can overcome this!!!!

Acupuncture Update and Observations!

So far things have been going great, and I have a lot to say. Acupuncture has left me with some interesting experiences and observations!

The first meeting I had I played my horn for my acupuncturist, and (forgive me for forgetting the correct terminology) she said the type of movement in my face is sometimes referred to as windy or winding or wind. She also noticed how the right side of my face is more tense than my left. My muscles on the right side were especially tight around my jaw and pulling my lower lip muscle to the side. She said it's probably been effecting part of my playing too. I couldn't agree more! I explained how that lower lip was causing me a lot of problems, especially in my mid-to-low range my lip quivers or spasms, but had gotten better over time with re-training.

Anywhoo, the first session we did some cupping along my back. She said I must have a lot of tension in my right shoulder because it turned bright red almost immediately and it hurt. But after she was done it felt good! Then I had a light acupuncture session, had some facial massage, and a pain-relieving type of medication applied to my face. I was instructed that I am only allowed to play 15 minutes once a week, and to ice-pack/heat-pack afterwards, along with stretches and massage.

However, the rest of the following week after my first session I had the most intense pain in my face accompanied by a headache...even though the first session was light. It lasted a couple days and I had to massage my face a lot, put on the pain relief medicine along with heat-packing/ice-packing as instructed. I felt like there was a nerve on the inside of my cheeks pulsating. It wasn't TMJ either like some people think because I've had a dentist confirm that it is not the source of my problems.

When I went in the first time the slight dullness was there in my cheek (near the buccinator muscles) and in my upper lip. But after the session ended it had moved further back near my ear, and on the top of my cheek bone, but instead of feeling dullness, I felt a soreness that developed into that intense pain. I put the pictures below showing where the soreness and sometimes throbbing felt the most intense and how it moved to different areas after every session. The remaining sessions down the road where not nearly as painful, and I felt more like soreness accompanied by blood trying to flow through my face, yet some areas it felt good and the other areas it just felt sore. I found it interesting that after the pain receded, there was much improvement in the feeling of my face and gradual physical appearances/changes.

The black circles represent the specific points where I felt soreness or a blockage before or after the sessions.

Before session one: dullness in cheek area, upper lip, and a ton of tension the chin.

1(A)

After session 1: Intense pain in the areas with the black circles, and a headache in the green area. Eventually all went away and the soreness remained in less areas as in the next after this one.

1(B)

After session 2: Soreness moved to near front of ear and behind ear.

2

After session 3: Soreness moved to side of chin/jaw closest to chin, and chin area only.

3

After session 4: Soreness moved to almost all of the right side of upper lip...especially near the base or bottom of the nose where the lip and nose meet, and also soreness along the lines that appear when you smile that run from the lip to the corners of the nose and along the nose.

4

After session 5: This was interesting because during the session it was the first time we used the electric currents/stimulation on my face. Soreness afterwards primarily existed in the whole muscle area on the underside of my chin or jaw and ran all the way down the muscles on the front of my neck, and also along the left side/back side of my neck. There was slight soreness in the muscles on my forehead....but I didn't have a headache or anything. Then very slight soreness in the side of my cheek but this time a much smaller area and on-off again.

5

It was during this previous session that my acupuncturist also brought up the noticeable difference or position of my lower lip when I spoke. It looked less abnormal. She said it looked like my right side wasn't pulling that muscle back as much as it was before. I was shocked that she said this because this is one the things my family members and friends noticed about me in the past; that my lower lip was positioned abnormally when I spoke ...which I had at the time thought it was just due to aging. I told her that I too noticed a change in my chin area, and in my speech too. It was easier for my jaw to move, and I felt a letting-go of tension type of feeling going on in my face...but it's not all at once...it's as if the blood circulation is trying to break through all the channels and blockages, and some are opening up, and some still are resistant...and I think that's what's causing the soreness. There's areas of my face that feel like there's changes going on, like there is blood flow that wasn't as vital-life of a type of feeling as before.

Anywhoo, my next session is coming up this Tuesday on New Years Eve! I'm very excited!!! Despite other people worrying that any additional signs of pain to my face are not good, I can only say that the soreness has only been temporary, and I believe it is necessary when it comes to relieving tension. Sometimes relieving tension in the body is painful...I'm not saying it should be excruciating, but that I believe it is a vital step in the process of recovery, especially when after the soreness goes away, my face feels so much different and less tense than I have felt in a very long time. Even the symptoms of dystonia have lessened, and some symptoms act differently than they did before because the way my embouchure functions or the way the muscles function has changed.

Acupuncture Sessions...ready, set, GO!!!

I've made the huge decision to seek out acupuncture to help with my peripheral trauma. Though I have had significant improvement in lessening my dystonic movement in my embouchure, the area where my nerve damage was is still causing me problems. I've noticed it more and more now that I've been working in my upper register again. I can't help but notice how limp it goes as I go higher.

I feel like a nerve is entrapped or stuck. Though I can function quite normally, its the sensation of feeling like my muscle in my upper lip is only half-functional. I feel it trying to move, but there's something preventing it. My dystonia symptoms also freak out more and come back pretty strongly after a few days of playing in my treble clef range. It isn't too hard to calm the dystonic symptoms down, but when I go into the higher register, it seems to dull the sensations around my embouchure. It doesn't make any sense.

After much deliberation, consideration, and speaking with a mentor and some extra guidance, I have decided to take the route of acupuncture. I feel I've come a long ways...regaining maybe 40% of my abilities, but I'm at a stand-still. There's only so much I can do, and I know there has to be some additional help to overcome what I'm dealing with.

I am really ecstatic and excited about my acupuncture therapy. At first, I was hesitant thinking about a needle or NEEDLES coming near my embouchure, but after reading the amount of research done on Acupuncture helping patients overcome Bell's Palsy, I find it miraculous, as it's known as a significant alternative treatment to neurological disorders...practiced outside of traditional medicine.

When asked why I never considered it before, I think it's because so often when dystonic musicians seek out medical help, we are lead to main-stream practice options such as botox injections, surgery, etc. that's way to harsh and can complicate things even more. I had known about the option of acupuncture before, but because the area where the damage was done had been tender when I was initially diagnosed, I had completely blocked it out of my mind as an option due to feeling it would hurt or make things worse. I definitely didn't want to bring any needles near my embouchure. But recently within the last couple months it was brought back to my attention the option of acupuncture due to meeting another horn player who overcame some embouchure and jaw pain and difficulties with acupuncture.

Anywhoo! Reading about the amount of cases that have overcome something as extreme as Bell's Palsy with the help of acupuncture, has left me feeling very hopeful. My acupuncturist says that because I have had my embouchure dystonia for so many years, it will take multiple treatments to overcome if possible.

Anywhoo, there's a lot of work to get done after a bit of a break. One of my best friends came out to visit this last week. He brightened my week up and we had a ton of fun hanging out! Was a good break among my hectic schedule!! Now, just to get some of my friends to move out here! :)

Also I haven't recorded a video in forever! I'm STILL waiting for my new mouthpiece to come in the mail. Apparently ordering it through my own job/work was not a good idea, as it got lost in the mail, had an invalid tracking number, blah blah etc. They said they are now sending it to my work place instead of my address, and go figure....it's the one week at my job where we can't receive shipments/orders due to our delivery person taking a vacation. LE SIGH. :-)