Arlington TMJ Pain and Auto Injury

Jaw or TMJ pain is a fairly typical condition experienced by many people after a car wreck, and it can be tough for some health practitioners to find the root of the problem. Complicating the issue, oftentimes you won't experience TMJ pain until many weeks or months after the original injury.

Dr. Ernst has helped many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical literature explains what causes these types of symptoms. During a crash, the tissues in your neck are frequently 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, inflammation of the nerves can cause issues in other parts of your body.

For example, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause tingling or pins and needles in the arm or hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injured area, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a wreck are very common because of neck injury, and the jaw works the same way. Dr. Ernst sees this very frequently in our Arlington office.

Research Shows Chiropractic Lessens TMJ Pain After an Auto Injury

Studies have shown that the root of many jaw or TMJ problems originates in the neck and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The secret to resolving these symptoms is simple: Dr. Ernst will work to return your spinal column back to health, decreasing the inflammation, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Ernst has found that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy condition.

If you reside in Arlington and you've been injured in a car crash, Dr. Ernst 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 (360) 659-8464 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.