TMJ Treatment: Can a Chiropractor Help with TMJ?

Anyone seeking TMJ treatment is all too familiar with the clicking, grating, and grinding halt that this disorder can bring you to. More than just a nuisance, TMJ is a painful condition that can interrupt basic day-to-day activities like eating and drinking. Luckily, TMJ sufferers rarely have to go to extreme measures such as surgical intervention to alleviate symptoms. For those weighing their options, here is how a TMJ chiropractor can help.

What is TMJ Disorder?

TMJ, formally known as the temporomandibular joint, is the joint that connects your lower jaw to your skull. This area acts as a hinge that holds your jaw and skull together and allows it to function. TMJ disorder - one of multiple conditions in the TMD family - causes pain and a limited range of motion in the muscles and joints that control the jaw's movements.

Signs and symptoms of TMJ often include:

• Pain or tenderness of the jaw
   
• Pain in one or both of the temporomandibular joints
   
• Aching pain in and around the ear
   
• Difficulty chewing or pain while chewing
   
• Aching facial pain
   
• Locking of the joint, making it difficult to open or close the mouth
   
• Clicking and or grating when opening or closing the mouth

As with most ailments, TMJ symptoms will vary from patient to patient, however some commonalities include tension, pain, and a limit in the jaw's range of motion.

How Can a Chiropractor Help with TMJ?

It's a well-known fact that chiropractic care is effective for neck and back pain, sciatica, fibromyalgia and general misalignment of the spine, but conditions such as TMJ disorder are often overlooked. In fact, proper chiropractic jaw alignment is incredibly important to your overall health, and absolutely an area that chiropractors are accustomed to working with.

The body is a network of moving parts that works in unison, meaning that just because you experience pain in the jaw, that this is the source of the problem. Oftentimes, TMJ disorder can stem from other issues, such as a pinched nerve in the spine or muscle tension elsewhere in the body. After a detailed assessment of your overall alignment, your chiropractor will pay attention to any points that need to be adjusted in order to bring it back into an optimal position.

What Types of Chiropractic Treatments are Effective?

TMJ treatment will need to be assessed on a patient-by-patient basis. With everything from jaw injuries to stress as the root causes of TMJ, there is no blanket solution. That being said, upper cervical chiropractic, which deals with a re-alignment of key areas in the upper spine, has often been cited as an effective set of techniques. The chiropractor can also work with key muscles such as the masseter, the temporalis, and the pterygoid, until better chiropractic jaw adjustment is achieved.

At Dr.Lanoue's chiropractic clinic, aside from professional chiropractic TMJ treatment, you can also expect tangible tips and advice on at-home exercises and stretches that can work in tangent with chiropractic care to help alleviate pain and tension in the jaw.

Do you suffer from TMJ? Dr. Lanoue and his team of Mississauga chiropractors may be able to bring the pain to a grinding halt! Get in touch for a free consultation.