Jaw pain is a fairly common problem experienced by many people after a car wreck, and it can be confusing for some doctors to identify the source of the problem. Complicating the issue, very often you won't experience TMJ pain until many weeks or months after a crash.
Robert C Slater, DC has treated many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the scientific literature explains what triggers these types of problems. During a crash, the tissues in your spine are commonly 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 problems 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 injured tissues, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a collision are very common because of neck injury, and the jaw works the same way. Robert C Slater, DC sees this very often in our Highland Park, Saint Paul, Minnesota office.
Studies have shown that the source of many jaw or TMJ symptoms starts in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The key to resolving these symptoms is simple: Robert C Slater, DC will work to restore your spinal column back to health, relieving the inflammation, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
Robert C Slater, DC finds that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy condition.
If you reside in Highland Park, Saint Paul, Minnesota and you've been hurt in a crash, Robert C Slater, DC can help. We've been working with auto injury patients since 1980, and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (651) 699-3366 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.
