Jaw pain is a fairly common problem reported by people after a car crash, and it can be tough for some doctors to identify the root of the problem. Complicating the issue, very often you won't develop TMJ pain until many weeks or months after the original injury.
TJ Delorie has helped many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical literature explains what produces these types of problems. During a collision, the tissues in your neck are often stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve injury. This can obviously cause pain in the neck and back, but since your nervous system is one functioning unit, inflammation of the nerves can cause pain in other parts of your body.
For instance, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause tingling or numbness in the arm and hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injury, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a collision are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. TJ Delorie sees this very commonly in our Olympia office.
Research shows that the source of many jaw or TMJ problems begins in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can fix the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The key to resolving these symptoms is simple: TJ Delorie will work to restore your spine back to health, reducing the inflammation, treating the injured tissues, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
TJ Delorie has found that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy state.
If you reside in Olympia and you've been hurt in a crash, TJ Delorie can help. We've been treating auto injury patients since 2002, and we can most likely help you, too. Give our office a call today at 724-123-1234 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.