TMJ Pain Relief with Chiropractic After Auto Accident

Chiropractic Effective for TMJ Pain After Car Crash in Napa

Jaw pain is a fairly common condition reported by many people after a auto injury, and it can be tough for some physicians to identify the cause of the problem. Complicating the issue, very often you won't experience TMJ pain until many weeks or months after the original injury.

Dr. Bettencourt has treated many individuals with jaw pain after an injury, and the medical research explains what produces these types of symptoms. During a car crash, the tissues in your spine are frequently stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve injury. This can clearly cause pain in the neck and back, but since your central 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 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 car crash are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. Dr. Bettencourt sees this very often in our Napa office.

Research Proves Chiropractic Care Lessens TMJ Pain After Car Crash

Studies have shown that the root of many jaw or TMJ symptoms originates in the cervical spine 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. Bettencourt will work to restore your spinal column back to health, reducing the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured tissues, and eliminating the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Bettencourt finds that jaw and headache symptoms often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy state.

If you live in Napa and you've been hurt in a car crash, Dr. Bettencourt can help. We've been treating auto injury patients for many years and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (707) 257-3600 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.

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    At Ranch Chiropractic our approach is unique and different! We see you as an individual with a unique set of needs, and we see Chiropractic health care as the means to help retrain your body to take care of itself. As you grow older, the stress of everyday life, repetitive motion at work, injuries and falls, or just plain living can compromise your body’s ability to cope. Our mission is to provide affordable, effective, “results-driven” patient centered Care.