We care about your Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ) problem. It is our
desire that you are able to achieve pain free daily living.
Many people suffer from dizziness, earaches, face, head and neck, shoulder, and
back pain. They may also suffer chronic fatigue, irritability, blocked or
ringing ears, difficulty swallowing, temporary loss of memory, and arthritis
like joint pain, or numbness in parts of the body that seem to have no relation
to the teeth and the jaws. These cases are frequently unrecognized by the
physicians who's standard training has not equipped them to understand the
relationship between teeth, the jaw bones and the subsequent alignment of the
jaws and the rest of the body.
Consequently, thousands of chronic sufferers go from one medical specialty to
another taking potent drugs, which fail to bring relief and even having
needless surgery when the pain becomes unbearable or being referred to
psychiatrists who cannot help them because these experts are concentrating on
the symptoms without recognizing the cause.
Temporo-Mandibular Joint disorders cause strained facial muscles and leads to
tension discomfort and pain. Almost 92 percent of all recurring headaches
come from a TMJ problem according to recent research. Also, according to
this recent research, almost one quarter of the population suffers some form of
craniomandibular (TMJ) disorder. If you have recurring headaches or jaw
pain, the chances are better that you would get relief from a Chiropractor
rather than a dentist, neurologist, surgeon, or a psychiatrist. If you
suffer from frequent headaches, please tell us. We can perform a thorough
examination to see if this head pain is related to your jaw.
If you are one of the millions of people who suffer from headaches, dizziness,
popping or clicking of the jaw joint, facial tension, neck or back problems or
other symptoms caused by TMD syndrome, we can usually help.
The Temporo-Mandibular Joints are joints located on either side of the face that
connect the lower jaw to the skull. The joints work in synergy with the
facial bones and multiple pairs of muscles to allow opening and closing of the
mouth and the forward, backward, rotational, and side-to-side movements of the
lower jaw. Any disturbance of the perfect facial balance can trigger the
cycle characteristic of TMJ disorders, which affect muscles and joints on all
areas of the Face, neck, and back. When muscles and joints are not
working together correctly, muscle spasm can result which produces pain and
dysfunction.
The TMJ is called the "impostor" since it can mimic other diseases.
Because TMJ disorders can mimic so many other conditions diagnosis can be
complicated. Many people spend a great deal of time and money searching
for the source of their symptoms. If your physician cannot find any
underlying conditions, you should consider the possibility of TMJ and recommend
that you consult with Dr. Tarrabain regarding your pain. We will examine
the TMJ, neck and upper back to determine the cause of your problem, so that
treatment can be started right away to speed your recovery.
Recurrent chronic headaches, as well as facial and neck pain, are common
occurrences in millions of Americans. In addition, people frequently
suffer from ear symptoms, including pain, ringing, buzzing, loss of hearing,
clicking and popping of the jaw joint noises, pain upon chewing, speaking and
sneezing. These symptoms, appearing unrelated, were previously,
frequently undiagnosed or misdiagnosed as migraine headache, pain due to
tension, neuritis, neuralgia, or stress headaches. When standard treatments for
these types of disorders proved unsuccessful, patients were frequently labeled
as hypochondriacs, or it's all in your head. It is well recognized by
practitioners in the health care community and those practicing in the area of
TMJ disorders, that those often unexplained, undiagnosed and therefore
untreated symptoms are related to a group of problems called Temporo-Mandibular
Joint disorders. With the proper training and diagnostic skills and
adequate equipment, practitioners working in the area of TMJ Dysfunction's are
able to pinpoint the cause of these symptoms and provide (many times miraculous
to the patient), relief of symptoms, which may have been present for
years. If you suffer from one or all of these symptoms, we are here to
help you.
Structural stress from a misaligned TMJ is the worst kind of physical stress
because there is no way the body can find relief for it. Any injured limb
can be rested, but it is impossible to leave the TMJ inactive. Without
realizing it, we swallow hundreds of times each day, and at night we may clinch
or grind our teeth. Every time those teeth meet in incorrect occlusion,
there is stress. To compensate for it, the jaw muscles begin to hold a
tense and unnatural position and before long the tension travels by chain
reaction throughout the body.
Muscle Spasms
Upper and lower teeth and jaws must come together firmly and without any stress
every time you swallow. Swallowing can happen over a few thousand times a
day and night, so, therefore, if your TMJ is unstable or certain areas of your
bite have more stress on them than others, the muscles must work extra
hard. In fact, they work so hard that sometimes some of the muscle groups
fail to get any rest. The extra work makes muscles shortened and results
in stiffness and pain in these muscles. Because of the strain, it is
possible that all the muscles in your head and neck may feel very
painful. Thus a vicious cycle begins of increased muscle tension, tissue
damage, and stressful pain that is almost impossible to eliminate. There
again, the cycling of this pain makes you feel very tense, uptight and
irritable. This in turn again cycles and worsens the muscle spasms, which
in turn increases the pain to another level.
Treatment Options
Manipulation: Dr. Tarrabain uses an Activator Adjusting
Instrument to adjust the misaligned TMJ joint. This helps to restore
normal biomechanics to the joint which improves joint function and reduces
pain.
Ultrasound: Reduction of joint inflammation and muscle
inflammation and any other inflammatory responses that occur in the head and
neck area. Ultrasound is extremely beneficial in reducing swelling and pain in
the TMJ area.
Moist Heat: Causes muscles muscle relaxation by applying
deep heat to muscle groups and also the joint area by a hydrocollator.
Ice: Ice can be introduced to achieve pain reduction and
reduce spasm and muscle tension.
Myofascial Therapy: Reduces muscle tension and stress,
and muscle pain by manual manipulation. We have three massage
therapists who can help with your head, neck and TMJ tension.