Memphis TMJ Pain and Auto Injury

Jaw or TMJ pain is a fairly common problem experienced by people after a car wreck, and it can be challenging for some physicians to find the cause of the problem. Complicating the issue, many times you won't experience TMJ symptoms until many weeks or months after the incident.

Dr. Amodeo has helped many men and women with jaw pain after an injury, and the scientific research explains what triggers these types of symptoms. During a crash, the tissues in your neck are often stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve damage. This can obviously cause pain in the neck and back, but since your central nervous system is one functioning unit, irritation of the nerves can cause pain in other parts of your body.

For instance, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause prickling or numbness in the arm or hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injured area, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a collision are very common because of neck injury, and the jaw works the same way. Dr. Amodeo sees this very commonly in our Memphis office.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps TMJ Pain After an Auto Accident

Research shows that the source of many jaw or TMJ problems originates in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can fix the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The key to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Dr. Amodeo will work to restore your spinal column back to health, reducing the inflammatory reaction, treating the injured areas, and eliminating the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Amodeo has found that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy condition.

If you reside in Memphis and you've been hurt in a car crash, Dr. Amodeo can help. We've been treating auto injury patients since 2011, and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (901) 757-8311 for an appointment or consultation.

Ciancaglini R, Testa M, Radaelli G. Association of neck pain with symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction in the general adult population. Scandinavian Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 1999;31:17-22.

Brantingham JW, Cassa TK, Bonnefin D, Pribicevic M, Robb A, et al. Manipulative and multimodal therapy for upper extremity and temporomandibular disorders: a system review. Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics 2013;36(3):143-201.