Facial Pain and Chiropractic Treatment

As there are many conditions that cause facial pain such as Headaches, Nerve Pain, Jaw and Dental Problems, it’s been reported that the most common facial pain is “Temporomandibular Joint and Muscle Disorder” (TMJD).

What is TMJD or Temporomandibular Joint and Muscle Disorder?

TMJD is a group of conditions that causes pain in the jaw, nerve, and surrounding muscles. TMJD causes 80% of the reported jaw or facial pain. The pain is usually increased with chewing and causes locking or catching- which would sound like clicking, grinding, and popping in the side of your jaw near your ear on the Temporomandibular joint. This limits the ROM (open and close your mouth). As a result, it leads to 30% of patients complaining of Earaches, Neck Pain, and Headaches.

What are the potential causes of TMJD?

• • TMJ synovitis or disc derangement

• Hyper/hypermobile TMJ
• Bruxism (Grinding Teeth)
• Muscle spasm in jaw muscles
• Trauma (motor vehicle accident)
• Poor-fitting dentures, dental conditions.
• Osteoarthrosis or rheumatoid arthrosis

As common as TMJD is, the prognosis of recovery is also very high. It was estimated that 75% of patients will have symptoms resolved within three months with comprehensive multidisciplinary treatments. These treatments entail the restoration of normal muscle function, stress reduction, proper jaw occlusion, pain control, and behaviour modification. So can visiting a chiropractor help with TMJD? It absolutely does and we treat many patients who have TMJD and the pain that comes along within.

How Chiropractor can help TMJD? 

Chiropractors may help with TMJ by alleviating tension and dysfunction in the spine. As chiropractors alleviate this dysfunction, it reduces the pressure on various nerves, which then alleviates pain associated with TMJ. Many people who have TMJ need continual care in order to keep the pain and other side effects away.

When you visit our chiropractic clinic with jaw pain we’ll focus on 3 key muscles: the masseter, the temporalis, and the pterygoid. We’ll also pay close attention to the suboccipital muscles, jaw joint, and the top 2 vertebrae because they greatly impact the jaw joint and we want to make sure everything is aligned properly.

If you are suffering from TMJD and would like to consult our Chiropractor, please fill the form below