Jaw or TMJ pain is a fairly typical problem reported by people after a car crash, and it can be tough for some doctors to identify the source of the problem. Complicating the matter, oftentimes you won't experience TMJ pain until many weeks or months after a crash.
Blake Chiropractic & Rehabilitation has treated many individuals with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical research explains what produces these types of problems. During a crash, the tissues in your spine are commonly stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve damage. This can clearly cause pain in the neck and back, but since your central nervous system is one functioning unit, inflammation of the nerves can cause problems in other parts of your body.
For example, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause prickling or pins and needles in the arm or hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injured area, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a collision are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. Blake Chiropractic & Rehabilitation sees this very frequently in our Harrisburg office.
Research shows that the root of many jaw or TMJ problems begins in the neck and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The secret to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Blake Chiropractic & Rehabilitation will work to restore your spine back to health, relieving the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured tissues, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
Blake Chiropractic & Rehabilitation finds that jaw and headache symptoms often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy condition.
If you reside in Harrisburg and you've been hurt in a crash, Blake Chiropractic & Rehabilitation can help. We've been working with auto injury patients since 1983, and we can most likely help you, too. Give our office a call today at (717) 657-2561 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.