Buffalo TMJ Pain and Auto Injury

Jaw or TMJ pain is a fairly common condition experienced by people after a car wreck, and it can be confusing for some physicians to find the cause of the problem. Complicating the matter, many times you won't develop TMJ pain until many weeks or months after a crash.

Dr. John Nowak has treated many men and women with jaw pain after an injury, and the scientific research explains what causes these types of problems. During a collision, the tissues in your spine are frequently stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve damage. This can obviously cause pain in the neck and back, but since your nervous system is one functioning unit, irritation of the nerves can cause problems in other parts of your body.

For instance, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause prickling or numbness in the arm or 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 TMJ works the same way. Dr. John Nowak sees this very commonly in our Buffalo office.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps TMJ Pain After an Auto Injury

Studies have shown that the root of many jaw or TMJ symptoms starts in the neck and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The key to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Dr. John Nowak will work to return your spine back to health, reducing the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. John Nowak finds that jaw and headache symptoms often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy state.

If you live in Buffalo and you've been injured in a crash, Dr. John Nowak can help. We've been treating auto injury patients since 1981, and we can most likely help you, too. Give our office a call today at (716) 825-4121 for an appointment or consultation.

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.