Chiropractic Care: A Natural Alternative for TMJ Pain Relief

You’ve been diagnosed with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, a disorder of the jaw that’s also known as TMD. The acronym TMD encompasses a number of disorders that affect your temporomandibular joint, causing a range of sometimes seemingly unconnected symptoms. 

You may have been to a variety of doctors seeking answers and have tried a number of therapies for TMJ pain. Physical therapy may have helped for a while, and a mouth guard might have provided some relief. 

If your problem is severe, you may have unrelenting jaw pain along with other symptoms. And if you’re still looking for relief, consider chiropractic care for your TMJ. It’s an all-natural, drug-free alternative. 

At Atkins Chiropractic, board-certified chiropractor Dr. Peter Atkins treats TMJ cases that result from spinal misalignment. 

TMJ symptoms 

TMJ symptoms vary widely. Your jaw may lock into position sometimes, and eating may be difficult because it hurts to chew. In addition to jaw pain, you might hear a popping sound when you open and close your mouth. 

If you have neck pain, dizziness, headaches, or tinnitus as part of your TMJ disorder, it could be the result of spinal misalignment.

How TMJ causes neck pain, headaches, and ear problems

You might think of TMJ pain as a jaw disorder, but the parts of your body are all connected. Something wrong with one part affects another. 

Your spinal column reaches into your neck and close to your jaw. You may be surprised to learn that you have a spinal vertebra, the C1, located behind your jaw on each side of your face. 

This is the bone that controls your head movement and rotation. It’s close to your jaw and inner ear, which explains why TMJ may include symptoms such as neck pain, headaches, and tinnitus. 

Because the C1 vertebra helps support your head, and because it’s so incredibly mobile, allowing your head to rotate in many directions, it can become misaligned. Your head may not be sitting level on your neck. 

When this occurs, it affects your jaw, causing muscle tension in your face. In turn, the nerves in the muscles that support your jaw can become irritated. Now you’re in pain.  

Research shows that spinal manipulation and manual mandibular therapy are effective techniques in treating TMJ pain due to misalignment. 

At Atkins Chiropractic, we manually manipulate the soft tissue around your jaw to ease tight muscles and move your jaw disc back into proper position. We use gentle stretches that increase blood flow to the area to promote healing. 

Using chiropractic methods, we move the jaw joint back into the correct position to relieve pressure on your jaw muscles. Chiropractic care rebalances your head, jaw, and neck so they are once again in alignment. You no longer have tense muscles irritating nerves in your jaw or neck. 

Call us at Atkins Chiropractic in University Place, Washington, today or book an appointment online if you’re suffering TMJ pain. We can relieve tense muscles and irritated nerves.