Jaw pain is a fairly typical problem reported by people after a car wreck, and it can be challenging for some physicians to find the root of the problem. Complicating the matter, many times you won’t develop TMJ pain until many weeks or months after the incident.
Dr. Kroner has helped many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical literature explains what triggers these types of problems. During a collision, the tissues in your neck are oftentimes stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve damage. This can clearly cause pain in the neck and back, but since your nervous system is one functioning unit, inflammation 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 or 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. Dr. Kroner sees this very frequently in our Yakima office.
Research Shows Chiropractic Lessens TMJ Pain After an Auto Accident
Research shows that the source of many jaw or TMJ symptoms begins 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. Kroner will work to restore your spine back to health, decreasing the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured tissues, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
Dr. Kroner has found that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy condition.
If you live in Yakima and you’ve been hurt in a crash, Dr. Kroner can help. We’ve been working with auto injury patients since 1992, and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (509) 972-4000 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.