Jaw or TMJ pain is a fairly typical problem reported by many people after a car accident, and it can be tough for some health practitioners to diagnose the cause of the problem. Complicating the matter, oftentimes you won't develop TMJ pain until many weeks or months after a crash.
Dr. Holland has helped many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical literature explains what triggers these types of problems. During a collision, the tissues in your neck 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, irritation 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 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 wreck are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. Dr. Holland sees this very commonly in our Downtown St. Louis, MO office.
Research shows that the source of many jaw or TMJ symptoms originates in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The trick to resolving these symptoms is simple: Dr. Holland will work to restore your spinal column back to health, decreasing the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
Dr. Holland finds that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy condition.
If you reside in Downtown St. Louis, MO and you've been injured in a crash, Dr. Holland can help. We've been treating auto injury patients since 2000, and we can most likely help you, too. Give our office a call today at (314) 588-9100 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.