Jaw pain is a fairly typical problem experienced by people after a car crash, and it can be challenging for some health practitioners to identify the cause of the problem. Complicating the issue, oftentimes you won't experience TMJ symptoms until many weeks or months after the original injury.
Oregon Medical Centers has treated many individuals with jaw pain after an injury, and the scientific research explains what produces these types of problems. During a crash, the tissues in your neck are commonly stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve damage. 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 instance, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause prickling or numbness in the arm and hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injury, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a wreck are very common because of neck injury, and the jaw works the same way. Oregon Medical Centers sees this very frequently in our Aloha, Beaverton office.
Research shows that the root of many jaw or TMJ symptoms starts in the neck and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can fix the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The trick to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Oregon Medical Centers will work to restore your spine back to health, relieving the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
Oregon Medical Centers has found that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy state.
If you live in Aloha, Beaverton and you've been hurt in a crash, Oregon Medical Centers can help. We've been working with auto injury patients since 1990, and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (503) 642-2845 for an appointment.
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.
Dr. Bhasin grew up in Southern California and did her undergraduate work in pre-med at California State University Northridge, as well as Humboldt State University in California. Dr. Bhasin attended the University of Western States in Portland Oregon where she earned her Doctor of Chiropractic Degree. Dr. Bhasin has passed her National boards and her State Boards. Dr. Bhasin loves helping people and finds great joy helping injured people get out of pain and get their life back again. She has helped thousands of patients.
