San Angelo TMJ Pain and Auto Injury

Jaw or TMJ pain is a fairly common problem experienced by many people after a car accident, and it can be challenging for some doctors to identify the root of the problem. Complicating the issue, many times you won't develop TMJ pain until many weeks or months after a crash.

Dr. Pittman has helped many individuals with jaw pain after an injury, and the scientific research explains what produces these types of problems. During a collision, the tissues in your neck are often 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 problems in other parts of your body.

For example, 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 injured area, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a wreck are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. Dr. Pittman sees this very frequently in our San Angelo office.

Research Supports Chiropractic Lessens TMJ Pain After an Auto Injury

Research indicates that the source of many jaw or TMJ problems starts in the neck and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The key to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Dr. Pittman will work to return your spine back to health, decreasing the inflammation, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Pittman finds that jaw and headache symptoms often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy condition.

If you reside in San Angelo and you've been hurt in a crash, Dr. Pittman can help. We've been treating auto injury patients since 2003, and we can most likely help you, too. Give our office a call today at (325) 223-9355 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.