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Worse than experiencing excruciating pain in your face and jaw is not knowing what’s causing it or how to make it stop. For many of us, facial pain is related to the temporomandibular joint. It’s the hinge like joint that is located at the base of the skull in front of the ear structure and connects the lower jaw (mandible) with the upper jaw (maxilla). Anytime this joint isn’t working properly, it could mean you’re having symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ disorder.
Symptoms for TMJ often include pain and tenderness in your jaw, neck, shoulders, and face. Facial swelling, toothaches, headaches, and dizziness can be associated as well. Hearing problems, ringing in the ears, lock jaw, or clicking and grating sensations when opening and closing your mouth can all result from the disorder. If you are experiencing any of this pain or discomfort, there is effective treatment that can help.
Treating TMJ. You may be wondering where TMJ would fit in on the list of services that chiropractors can offer. The simple answer is that chiropractic adjustments for TMJ can help relieve related pain and cause a significant improvement in the disorder through the manipulation of trigger points. By relieving tension in the muscles and around the joints through advanced fascial manipulation, the pain associated with TMJ can be eased. A mix of muscle therapies to treat TMJ may include active release technique, instrument assisted muscle scraping, PIR stretching, manual mobilization and manual stretching of TMJ.
Dry needling can be used to target the muscles and tissues of the jaw, upper back and neck to relieve tension and muscle spasms. The area that is being targeted through dry needling releases trigger points and stimulates the healing response.
At Smart Pain Solutions we follow a system called QAPE. With QAPE the goal is to get to the root of the problem and provide the patient with safe, effective and affordable care in a timely manner. If something is not working or you would be better served by a different provider, we will be courteous of your time and your money by making a prompt referral. Here is an example of how a TMJ case would fit into our QAPE model at a Smart Pain Solutions office.
Neck pain is the second most common condition seen in a chiropractic office. Common causes include things such as posture, an injury, and arthritis. The doctors will discuss the onset, symptoms, and pain patterns to determine what assessments can and should be done.
Combination of Dry needling, Active Release through jaw, suboccipitals, upper trapezius muscles, manual stretching and mobilization of jaw, Chiropractic adjustment through neck and upper back. Trial of care 2x/week for 2 weeks. Additional self management strategies such as a night guard or stretching may be recommended depending on the case.
Postural assessments, palpation, possibly X-rays, and tests of motion and mobility will be done to diagnose where the neck pain is coming from and why.
During treatment some progress/change should be noted at each visit. If no progress is being made after 2-3 visits a re-evaluation may be necessary leading to a change in plan. If the treatment is working, visits may extend past 2 weeks to achieve maximum medical improvement.
Dr. Sarah Geringer
Chiropractic Physician
Dr. Walker Byers
Chiropractic Physician
Dr. Bryan Rasch
Chiropractic Physician
11901 St Charles Rock Road
Bridgeton, MO 63044
314-298-1400
225 S Meramec Avenue #306
St. Louis, MO 63105
314-721-5390