Jaw pain is a fairly typical condition reported by many people after a car crash, and it can be challenging for some health practitioners to diagnose the root of the problem. Complicating the matter, very often you won't experience TMJ symptoms until many weeks or months after the original injury.
Chiropractic Healing Hands For You has helped many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical research explains what produces these types of symptoms. During a crash, the tissues in your neck are commonly stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve damage. This can obviously cause pain in the neck and back, but since your central nervous system is one functioning unit, inflammation of the nerves can cause pain in other parts of your body.
For example, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause tingling or pins and needles in the arm and hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injury, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a wreck are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. Chiropractic Healing Hands For You sees this very often in our Portland office.
Research shows that the root of many jaw or TMJ symptoms starts in the neck and that treatment of the underlying neck problem can fix the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The key to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Chiropractic Healing Hands For You will work to return your spine back to health, reducing the inflammation, treating the injured tissues, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
Chiropractic Healing Hands For You has found that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy condition.
If you reside in Portland and you've been injured in a crash, Chiropractic Healing Hands For You can help. We've been treating auto injury patients since 2005, and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (503) 771-1974 for an appointment.
Ciancaglini R, Testa M, Radaelli G. Association of neck pain with symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction in the general adult population. Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 1999;31:17-22.
Brantingham JW, Cassa TK, Bonnefin D, Pribicevic M, Robb A, et al. Manipulative and multimodal therapy for upper extremity and temporomandibular disorders: a system review. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2013;36(3):143-201.
Dr. Helton, a Portland chiropractor, has been providing chiropractic health care and treatment for accident injuries for over 30 years. Dr. Helton specializes and is an expert in the evaluation and treatment of injuries from auto accidents. He has passed advanced certification training and testing by the Spine Research Institute of San Diego in the evaluation, treatment, and management of injuries from whiplash and brain traumatology.
