TMJ Pain Relief with Chiropractic After Auto Accident

Jaw pain is a fairly typical condition reported by many people after a auto collision, and it can be confusing for some health practitioners to find the root of the problem. Complicating the matter, very often you won't develop TMJ symptoms until many weeks or months after the accident.

Dr. Nowak has treated many men and women with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical literature explains what produces these types of symptoms. During a auto injury, the tissues in your spine 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, irritation 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 injured area, like your head and jaw. Headaches after auto injury are very common because of neck injury, and the jaw works the same way. Dr. Nowak sees this very frequently in our South Buffalo office.

Research Shows Chiropractic Treatment Helps TMJ Pain After Auto Injury

Studies have shown that the root of many jaw or TMJ symptoms starts in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck problem can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The trick to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Dr. Nowak will work to restore your spinal column back to health, reducing the inflammation, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Nowak has found that jaw and headache symptoms often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy condition.

If you live in South Buffalo and you've been injured in a crash, Dr. Nowak can help. We've been treating auto injury patients for many years and we can probably 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.