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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 whose 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, who advise 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 temperomandibular (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. Cady 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
Spasm:
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 are 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. Cady 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 massage
therapists who can help with your head, neck and TMJ
tension.
Call
us today at 408-739-2273 and get out
of pain fast!
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