Have Chronic Jaw Pain? What To Know
If you're dealing with pain in your neck and jaw and your dentist doesn't think you have temporal mandibular disorder, there are a few things you can do to help alleviate the pain. The problem may not be that there is an alignment concern in your jaw bones directly, but in your spinal cord, shoulders and back.
You'll want to find a chiropractor that has a lot of experience with facial problems, and who has a massage therapist and possibly an acupuncturist in the office. Here are a few different things that will help with the current pain.
Adjustment
Using adjustment techniques, the chiropractors can start to move your bones into their proper place, so there is no more pain with regular daily movements. This will stop the joints from rubbing together improperly and it will relieve the pressure and strain caused on the ligaments and tendons by the bones being out of place. A few different adjustments may be necessary to start noticing results and to keep the bones in proper alignment. With x-rays the chiropractor can see all the problems leading to your pain.
Acupuncture
Acupuncture is a great way to get rid of pain in the body without ingesting prescription medications that can be toxic and addicting. This can relieve pain you're having directly in the area where the bones are out of line, along with headaches and other aches. Acupuncture should only be done by someone who is licensed and experienced.
Therapeutic Massage
Therapeutic massage is going to help give you instant relief to the tension and sore muscles, and it will help to stimulate the area and improve circulation. When circulation is improved, fresh blood cells can come to the area to help the damaged tissues and ligaments heal, and the massage will relief stress in other areas of the body.
The chiropractor will tell you what you're doing that could be increasing the problem, like over-extending the jaw when you yawn or take a bite out of something. Avoiding foods that are sticky or chewy when you're trying to heal the area will also be beneficial. You don't want to continue every day with all of this pain in your mouth, and instead you can get treatment without having to go under the knife. The sooner you address the skeletal problem, the easier it will be for the professionals to treat and fix for you.
