Abstract
The effectiveness of mechanical vibration to sensory fields of cranial nerves CN 5, 7, 8, 9, and 10 and cervical nerves C2 and C3 to mitigate migraine and trigeminal neuropathy pain was assessed. Vibratory devices were fitted within silicon impressions of the auditory meatus in 72 subjects (47 females, 25 males; 15 with trigeminal neuropathy pain, 57 with migraine pain). After initial pain level self-reports, oxygen saturation, heart and respiratory rates, and beat-by-beat blood pressure were collected during a 10-minute control period, followed by 10-minute low- and 20-minute high-amplitude 128 Hz mechanical vibration, and a second 10-minute control period and pain assessment. Migraine and trigeminal pain declined by a mean average of 3.54 (p<0.00001) self-report levels. Visual and vestibular aura were reduced or abolished. Heart rates declined due to vibratory stimulation, and partially recovered post-vibration, but remained lower than at trial onset. In a subset of 20 subjects, successive trials reduced the frequency and intensity of pain attacks over time. Non-invasive mechanical stimulation of cranial and cervical nerves can suppress pain and ameliorate deleterious aura, possibly through action of force sensing Piezo1 and Piezo2 ion channels.