Jaw pain is a fairly common problem reported by people after a car accident, and it can be tough for some physicians to find the cause of the problem. Complicating the issue, very often you won't experience TMJ symptoms until many weeks or months after the incident.
Dr. Bogan has helped many men and women with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical research explains what causes these types of symptoms. 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 central nervous system is one functioning unit, irritation of the nerves can cause problems in other parts of your body.
For instance, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause prickling or numbness in the arm or hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injured tissues, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a crash are very common because of neck injury, and the jaw works the same way. Dr. Bogan sees this very often in our Tulsa office.
Research shows that the source of many jaw or TMJ problems begins in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck problem can fix the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The secret to resolving these symptoms is simple: Dr. Bogan will work to return your spine back to health, alleviating the inflammation, treating the injured areas, and eliminating the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
Dr. Bogan finds that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy state.
If you live in Tulsa and you've been injured in a crash, Dr. Bogan can help. We've been working with auto injury patients since 1978, and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (918) 832-7880 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.
Dr. Fred Bogan provides quality chiropractic care to patients in Jenks, OK. Whether you're searching for effective pain relief or a way to boost whole body wellness, Alliance Chiropractic can help.
