TMJ Relief Without Twisting or Cracking

TMJ Issues Can Be Debilitating

Those suffering often report these symptoms:

  • Jaw pain or tightness

  • Clicking/popping

  • Headaches

  • Ear pain/fullness

  • Difficulty chewing

  • Neck tension

TMJ, More Than Just the Jaw?

Contrary to what people think, pain and discomfort in the jaw may not be coming from issues in the jaw alone, and in many cases are actually coming from the upper neck. Very often, pain in the jaw is actually the result of restrictions and misalignments in the neck. These restrictions can lead to localized swelling, which can then press on the spinal nerves and result in pain being referred to the jaw. Without proper correction, these issues will continue and can lead to increased pain, and if left long-term, can lead to arthritis and joint degradation.

Why Some Treatments Don’t Provide Lasting Relief

When most people begin to have pain or clicking in their jaw, they start with simple things like ice packs, heat, over-the-counter pain relievers, or jaw stretches/exercises. If none of these work, they will typically move on to more involved treatments such as mouth guards/splints, prescription pain relievers, local corticosteroids, or even Botox injections. If these treatments have all failed, then they may even resort to arthrocentesis or surgery. In many cases, even after trying multiple different treatment options, the pain and/or dysfunction remain. This is because the root cause of the issue was not in the jaw, but instead in the neck.

Our Approach

At Gentle Family Chiropractic, we take the time to hear your full medical history to gain the most comprehensive picture of your specific case and the treatments you have already undergone. After this, we conduct a comprehensive assessment to understand how the joints in your neck are moving, along with multiple orthopedic tests, to determine the specific locations involved and gauge the severity of those issues. Once the exam is complete and we have gathered all the information, as long as the evidence we gathered points to neck and jaw biomechanics issues, then we will begin performing adjustments on those areas.

We do not perform our adjustments like other chiropractors, with forceful, aggressive hands-on adjustments; instead, we use a tapping instrument that allows us to not only be very gentle but also provide the most precise adjustments possible. Due to our cutting-edge protocol and the use of the handheld Arthrostim instrument, we can deliver adjustments exactly where they are needed to the neck and even the jaw as well.

Our Results

Following care, most patients experience:

  • Reduced jaw tension and pain

  • Elimination or reduction of clicking/popping

  • Fewer headaches

  • Removal or lessening of ear pain/fullness

  • Improved comfort with chewing

  • Reduced neck tightness

Next Steps

If you or someone you know is experiencing any of these issues, please don’t hesitate to give us a call. We would be glad to discuss your specific questions or concerns. If you would like to learn more or would like to schedule an appointment, please give our office a call at 724-320-2003.