If you’ve ever experienced jaw pain, stiffness, or discomfort when chewing or opening your mouth, you may have temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
In the United States, 5-12% of people experience TMJ pain, which can have a substantial impact on their everyday lives. Jaw pain not only makes eating difficult but can also trigger headaches, earaches, and neck pain.
While medication or surgery may sometimes be necessary, there are drug-free, non-invasive treatment options like chiropractic care that can effectively relieve TMJ discomfort.
Keep reading to learn how chiropractic adjustments can help reduce jaw pain and improve function.
Understanding TMJ Disorder
The temporomandibular joints (TMJ) are the joints that link the jawbone to the skull on every side of the head. These complex joints work together for smooth mouth movement for talking, chewing, yawning, and swallowing.
Unfortunately, damage or misalignment of the TMJ joints interferes with this motion, resulting in restricted movement and intense pain. TMJ disorders affect vital functions most people take for granted, like enjoying a meal or smiling.
What Contributes to TMJ Disorders?
- Sports impacts or physical blows causing jaw injury
- Excessive teeth grinding or jaw clenching (bruxism)
- Development of inflammatory arthritis
- Jaw displacement from uneven bite pattern
Symptoms of TMJ
- Intense jaw discomfort and tenderness moving to the cheeks, neck, and shoulders.
- Clicking, popping or rough grating sounds/sensations when opening or closing the mouth
- Jaw tenderness or tiredness after chewing or talking
- Fixed jaw that cannot open entirely or difficulty biting or chewing food
- Frequent headaches or migraines
- Repeated ear pain or pressure
Conventional TMJ Treatments
If you have TMJ pain, you might want to know about treatments other than just dealing with the constant discomfort. TMJ disorder treatments vary from medication to surgery, depending on factors like structural damage and response to conservative care.
Mild to moderate cases of treatment typically start with more conservative management, which includes,
Over-the-Counter Medications
Anti-inflammatory drugs like ibuprofen or acetaminophen can provide temporary TMJ pain relief but don’t address underlying structural causes.
Dental Night Guards
Custom mouthpieces prevent excessive teeth grinding and lower fracture risk over time. However, guards don’t improve joint alignment or relax muscle tension.
Lifestyle Changes
- Chewing gum.
- Biting nails.
- Resting your hand on the chin.
- Carrying heavy bags
How Chiropractic Adjustments Relieve TMJ Pain
Chiropractor for TMJ offers a drug-free, non-surgical solution for finding relief from debilitating TMJ dysfunction. They use gentle TMJ jaw pain treatments to fix jaw pain. They do this by opening the mouth, selecting joints, relieving muscle tension, restoring movement, and eliminating pain causes.
At Aloha, specialized chiropractic protocols our experts employ for TMJ disorders include:
1. Spinal Manipulation
Can a chiropractor help with TMJ? Our skilled Chiropractors use gentle movements to straighten the spine and increase interaction between the brain and TMJ joints. It aids in restoring proper coordination and enhances smooth jaw motion and function.
Specific adjustments improve joint health, recover movement, reduce muscle strain, promote circulation, and trigger the body’s natural pain relief mechanisms.
2. Joint Mobilization
Our TMJ Chiropractors use low-force, oscillating techniques that gently stretch tight jaw joints and surrounding ligaments. These movements improve joint flexibility, allowing more movement without causing more harm. Subtle adjustments target stuck joints in opening, closing, protruding or swinging the jaw from side to side.
3. Myofascial Release
Our Chiropractors apply sustained gentle pressure to loosen up connective tissue called fascia that wraps around muscles. Tight fascia causes tension, spasms, and inflammation that radiates TMJ discomfort.
Myofascial release helps lengthen fascia, break up scar tissue adhesions, relax muscles, improve circulation, and eliminate painful muscle knots.
4. Trigger Point Therapy
Our Chiropractors isolate tense, tender muscle knots (trigger points) that form in overworked jaw muscles, contributing to TMJ strain. Modalities like sustained pressure or vibration decompress trigger points. Trigger point therapy reduces spasms and referred pain patterns causing TMJ disorder symptoms.
Over time, these chiropractic methods relax clenched jaw muscles, pulling joints out of place so they can adequately realign. Vital structural corrections then prevent ongoing abrasion that generates inflammation and pain.
Shockwave Therapy for TMJ Pain Relief
- Significantly decreased facial pain and headache intensity
- Restored range of motion, enabling free jaw movement
- Reduced clicking, popping and grating sounds from TMJ joints
- Prevented the need for risky surgery or medication dependence
- Improved daily functions like comfortable chewing/talking
Are you suffering from TMJ pain, too?
Book an appointment with our Chiropractor and get pain relief first-hand.
Get AppointmentWrapping Up: Holistic Help for TMJ Pain
If you have jaw pain, limited movement, or discomfort, there are safe and effective alternatives to medication or surgery.
Consider our chiropractic care at Aloha Sports Chiropractic as a holistic approach to naturally realigning your jaw, releasing muscle tension, restoring range of motion, and finding relief.
Meet Dr. Craig Eymann, a dedicated chiropractor and yoga enthusiast with over two decades of expertise in spinal health, sports chiropractic, and personalized care, prioritizing misalignment correction for swift injury resolution.
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