Juneau, AK TMJ Pain and Auto Injury

Jaw or TMJ pain is a fairly common problem reported by people after a car accident, and it can be hard for some health practitioners to find the cause of the problem. Complicating the matter, very often you won't experience TMJ symptoms until many weeks or months after the incident.

Dr. Messerschmidt 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 crash, the tissues in your neck are oftentimes 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 area, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a collision are very common because of neck injury, and the jaw works the same way. Dr. Messerschmidt sees this very commonly in our Juneau, AK office.

Research Supports Chiropractic Helps TMJ Pain After an Auto Accident

Research indicates that the source of many jaw or TMJ symptoms begins in the neck and that treatment of the underlying neck problem can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The secret to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Dr. Messerschmidt will work to restore your spine back to health, reducing the inflammation, treating the injured tissues, and eliminating the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

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

If you live in Juneau, AK and you've been hurt in a car crash, Dr. Messerschmidt can help. We've been working with auto injury patients since 1983, and we can most likely help you, too. Give our office a call today at (907) 789-1344 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.