Living with a TMJ disorder can be a painful, inconvenient, and discouraging experience. A clicking, cracking, and stiff jaw can affect your everyday life; there may be times when you even have trouble eating or chewing. Although people with TMJ disorders rarely have to resort to surgery, the pain can worsen over time. So, can a chiropractor help with TMJ?!
If you’ve been struggling to find an effective treatment plan for your TMJ disorder, chiropractic adjustments may help you find pain relief from the tension caused by TMJ. Since the jaws are a critical junction in the body, chiropractors have a lot of experience working with patients living with TMJ. If you’ve been interested in trying chiropractic treatment for your TMJ disorder, there are a few things you should know.
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TMJ Disorder
The temporomandibular joint fastens your jawbone to your skull. You have one joint on each side of your skull. But, for people with TMJ disorders, pain occurs in the jaw joint or the muscles that control its movement; this pain can reduce the range of motion and jaw mobility. The definitive cause of TMJ disorder is still unknown. But, genetics, jaw injury, or arthritis can elevate symptoms. It can also result from stress/grinding or clenching the jaw consciously or unconsciously, a condition called bruxism.
Symptoms of TMJ vary in each patient, and most won’t need surgical treatment. Even so, it’s important to see a medical professional if you’re experiencing any of the following:
- Clicking noises or grating sensations
- Jaw tension
- Pain in one or both of the TMJ joints
- Aching pain around or in the ear
- Difficulty chewing due to pain or stiffness
- Tenderness of the jaw
- Facial pain
- Locking of the jaw
Treating TMJ With Chiropractic Treatment
It’s well known that chiropractors can help with back pain, fibromyalgia, and sciatica. With that in mind, chiropractors have lots of experience with TMJ disorders. After all, the TMJ is a jaw joint. Sometimes, a TMJ disorder can stem from another problem within the body. Even a pinched nerve or muscle tension in another place could affect TMJ symptoms. During your appointment, your chiropractor will survey your overall alignment. If they see anything that needs to be adjusted, they’ll put it back into an optimal position.
Chiropractic Treatments
Every patient is different, which means chiropractic treatments will vary depending on the case. Some TMJ disorders are a direct result of a jaw injury. Others may be from muscle tension in a completely separate part of the body. With that said, most upper-cervical chiropractic adjustments/treatments help people living with TMJ; this is a chiropractic treatment that focuses on re-alignment of the upper spine. A professional chiropractor can also use key muscles like the temporalis, pterygoid, or masseter to relieve pain.
If you or someone you love is struggling with a TMJ disorder, please reach out! Our in-house specialist, Dr. Jessica Rosner, has decades of experience treating pain and discomfort associated with TMJ disorders.
If you’re looking for a chiropractor in Hingham or Braintree, please contact us to learn how professional chiropractic treatment can help you with TMJ pain!