Got shoulder pain?

25 Feb 2021 Pain

Here are two of the most common forms of injuries we see in office!

Rotator Cuff Injuries

What are the rotator cuff muscles?

They are a group of muscles that surround the shoulder

  • Supraspinatus (most commonly injured)
  • Infraspinatus
  • Teres minor
  • Subscapularis

Just remember “SITS”!

How do I know I have injured any of these muscles?

Pain with various shoulder movements and ranges of motion

  • Pain reaching over head and/or any raising of the arm.
  • Pain when reaching behind you.
  • Discomfort while sleeping on shoulder.

The types of injuries to the rotator cuff are:

  • Tendonitis (most common injury) – From repetitive motions such as painting, typing on a keyboard, or even throwing a ball.
  • Tear – Usually occurs after a tendonitis has been present for sometime, or some other wear and tear that finally causes the tendon or muscle to snap.
  • Impingement syndrome – Can come about when one of the four rotator cuff muscles becomes impinged by a bony prominence in the shoulder blade.

Adhesive Capsulitis or Frozen Shoulder

What is adhesive capsulitis?

  • Commonly known as frozen shoulder, the humerus usually sticks to the scapula (shoulder blade) and the muscular capsule becomes adhesive like glue making, reaching things over the head difficult or sometimes even impossible.
  • It is more common in women around 40-60 years of age.
  • There is no known direct cause for this condition.

How do I know if I have it?

  • Easiest way to tell if you have frozen shoulder is if you have pain and stiffness when raising your arm out to the side.
  • Or that it may not go away simply with massage.

How are shoulder injuries diagnosed?

The most common diagnostic tools:

  • Orthopedic tests
  • Manual muscle tests
  • X-rays to check for arthritis
  • MRIs to check for inflammation or any muscle tears

What are the available treatments?

Depending on the severity of the injury, we usually start with the most conservative to the most invasive treatments.

  • Chiropractic
    • Manipulation and muscle work help rehabilitation the shoulder to decrease pain and increase range of motion.
    • Often the patient is sent home with exercises to complete in between treatments.
  • Acupuncture
    • Helps break the pain cycle, especially with tendonitis
  • Physical Therapy
    • If home exercises are not enough or the patient is unwilling to do them, we refer patients to physical therapy.
    • They work to reduce inflammation and pain by strengthening rotator cuff muscles and trunk muscles.
    • Goal is future injury prevention.
  • Corticosteroid
    • To stop inflammation and allow for healing.
  • Surgery
    • Is performed when repair of a muscle tear is needed.
    • Either done through open surgery or arthroscopic.

These are examples of some of the different exercises we have our patients do for shoulder rehabilitation.

Sciatica

6 Dec 2019 Pain, Your Overall Health , ,

This is one of the most common causes of pain in the low back, buttocks with symptoms that travel down the leg. It is commonly self-diagnosed, but immediate care is rarely sought making it one of the more common and frequently untreated conditions in our country.

What is Sciatica?
Sciatica is pain, weakness, numbness that descends from the low back, buttock and radiates in a pattern down the sciatic nerve. Symptoms generally are on one side of the body and can be from several causes. The medical diagnosis of true Sciatica is Lumbar Radiculopathy. Many soft tissue injuries will mimic radiculopathy and may be diagnosed with sciatica without a true lumbar issue.

What causes Sciatica?
Lumbar disc disease which is pressure or stimulus on the nerve causing radiation, caused by disc collapse, herniation or spinal stenosis. Muscular cause of sciatica is caused by tightness in the piriformis muscle(buttock), and can be a combination of piriformis with gluteus Medius, tensor fascia lata and quadratus lumborum. Swelling in the lumbar disc area or surrounding muscles can also lead to a diagnosis of sciatica trauma or repetitive strain. The most common reasons for getting sciatica are the following:

  • During Pregnancy
  • Long hours working in a seated position
  • Jobs that have squatting regularly
  • Runners
  • CrossFit athletes, Commuters in a sedan style vehicle (angle of the hip puts them at risk)
  • Long or new workouts

How is sciatica diagnosed?
It is diagnosed by MRI and orthopedic testing that your Orthopedist or Chiropractor will do. Symptoms typically include the following:

  • Low back pain
  • Hip pain
  • Pain in the buttock and into the leg
  • Burning or tingling down the leg
  • Shooting pain in the buttock or leg
  • Aching pain in the buttock (early stages)
  • Pain is worse with sitting
  • Pain is better with standing and walking around

How is sciatica Treated?
The most common treatment in the USA for sciatica is massage to the piriformis muscle and the low back muscle complex. The second most common treatment and highly recommended to prevent re-occurrence is chiropractic care along with muscle therapy. The chiropractic treatment insures that there is alignment in the lumbar spine, pelvis and sacrum which can be common triggers to tightening up of the muscles responsible for the nerve pain in the buttock and low back. However, alignment alone is not enough to treat this condition and muscle work performed by your chiropractor or a trained massage therapist is required to get rid of symptoms and pain.

What happens if I think I have sciatica?
Begin by stretching or rolling out the piriformis; follow this up with ice to the area. If it is only aching and causing a mild limp and hasn’t progressed into radiating pain yet and rolling hasn’t taken care of the problem, contact your chiropractor or massage therapist. More serious cases may take injections or acupuncture in conjunction with the manual therapies.

We have a complete foam roller guide for your body and we would love to give one to you. Feel free to come by our office and ask for a foam roller sheet.

The Chiropractic Approach to Low Back Pain

18 Jun 2018 Pain, Your Overall Health , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

What is back pain?

Back pain typically occurs in the lumbar spine and pelvic region otherwise known as the buttocks.  The pain can occur from a tightening of muscles or joints that get jammed due to a specific incident or small injuries that occur over time from work, athletics or even desk jobs.

What is the most common cause of back pain?

The most common cause of back pain is related to repetitive strain injuries that occur on the job or during daily activities.  Working on the computer, cooking, sewing or any activity that keeps you repeating the same movements from the same position can be the culprit of that nagging backache. The strain happens when either the muscles are tight and you are unable to stretch them, or when a joint is misaligned and the muscles become painful as they try to re-align the joint.

What are the less common types of back pain?

Degenerative disc disease, arthritis, herniation and neurologic conditions are all injuries that occur to the spine and more commonly in the low back.  These conditions will likely cause you great distress and you will need to seek a health care provider’s services.  The following symptoms require an immediate visit to your doctor:

  • History of cancer
  • Unexplained weight loss >10 kg within 6 months
  • Age over 50 years or under 17 years old
  • Failure to improve with therapy
  • Pain persists for more than 4 to 6 weeks
  • Night pain or pain at rest
  • Persistent fever (temperature over 100.4 F)
  • History of intravenous drug abuse
  • Organ transplant
  • Recent bacterial infection
  • Major muscle weakness
  • Trouble lifting your foot
  • Numbness and lower extremity weakness
  • Anal sphincter dysfunction
  • Recent trauma
  • History of osteoporosis

What are the basic causes of back pain?

  • Desk job
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Herniated disk
  • Gravity
  • Sports injury
  • Bacterial Infection
  • Fractures
  • Cancer
  • Repetitive strain
  • Jammed (misaligned) joints

Why see a Chiropractor instead of a massage therapist?

Chiropractic care helps re-align joints which stops the pain related to the muscles trying to push the joint back into alignment.  A typical response to this type of pain might be to stretch or get a massage.  While this might temporarily ease the pain, if you don’t re-align the joints, the muscles will loyally return to their job of trying to push the joint back into place and you will be back in pain once again.  This isn’t to say that massage can’t be a terrific partner in getting rid of long term pain. We feel that massage and chiropractic can make an excellent team!

Getting adjusted not only will help relieve your low back pain, but offers other health benefits as well.  According to research by Sean M. Hannon, BA, DC, chiropractic adjustment can result in the following physiologic changes:            

  • Increased strength
  • Increased oxygen consumption capacity
  • Increased range of motion
  • Decreased pain
  • Increase cardiac regulation
  • Increased immunity

Considering these benefits, it is easy to see why athletes and other health conscious people seek out regular chiropractic care. If you suffer from chronic or even occasional back pain, contact our office.  We can help!

What are some of the techniques we use to treat low back pain?

Our doctors are trained in many different types of adjustment techniques ranging from hands-on to instrument adjusting.  They also use different types of soft tissue therapies that can benefit an injury whether it is chronic or acute.  Treating both joint and soft tissue issues allows an injury more complete resolution than either alone.  The techniques used are:

  • Graston – soft-tissue and fascia therapy
  • Activator – instrument adjusting (non-force)
  • Sacro-occipital Technique (SOT) – Use of pelvic alignment (non-force)
  • Diversified Adjustment – Manual medicine with hands
  • Thompson Drop Adjustment – Using the table to increase speed of adjustment but not the pressure put on a body
  • Quantum Neurology – instrument adjusting (non-force) uses nerve reflexes as well
  • Gonstead – Classic manual chiropractic adjustment
  • Kinesio tape – muscle therapy and proprioceptive training using tape
  • Cranio-sacral technique – hands-on soft-tissue manipulation
  • Pediatric and Pregnancy Specific adjustments – hands on but specifically designed for certain times of life
  • Webster Technique – pelvis alignment for turning breech babies

The WooHoo of Chiropractic

30 Mar 2017 Pain, Your Overall Health , ,

How Adjustments can benefit more than just the bones, joints and muscles.  The most common time for a patient to seek out a Chiropractor is when they are in pain or have just been injured.

We as a profession are known for our ability to treat Headaches, Neck pain and Low back pain.  For optimal health of the back, neck and head, it is suggested to get adjusted at least twice a year. We get our teeth checked twice a year but we never really think about the spine and how the nerves are affected when a spine or muscle isn’t functioning properly.  The common objection people have against seeing a chiropractor is: “if I start going, I will always have to go”.  The answer is, “Yes, if your body would only be so lucky to see a chiropractor all the time!”. The actual answer is NO, you will not have to keep coming back week after week.  We ask that you get checked two times a year to make sure you are maintaining proper function.  Every function in your body is determined by the nervous system as a whole and we know that the nervous system protector is the spine.  When a nerve is affected because your body is misaligned in the spine, we can measure that its electrical output goes down, meaning whatever that nerve controls will have a decrease in function.

Based on research, an adjustment of the L4 vertebra in athletes will strengthen the quad muscle.  We can measure this and see an improvement after an adjustment.  Do we know exactly how this happens?? “No” this is the WooHoo factor.  We also see that babies with constipation getting adjusted will suddenly be able to poop more effectively; we can observe it and measure it but we haven’t exactly been able to explain it yet and until our understanding of neurology expands in the medical profession we may not know, we have ideas but no proven mechanism.

  • In our office I have also seen where adjusting the T9 vertebra will improve someone’s stomach pain and because I am a bit of a skeptic myself I always try this as a last resort looking for more organic and more explainable causes first.  But we are now taking a more holistic approach if someone comes in with stomach pain or a cough we will treat those symptoms and disease classically through oral supplementation as well as to adjust the patient, because there is no known way to tell by examining a patient externally if the nerve and interference to the nerve are part of that problem or not.  So we always make sure the spine is aligned so that we remove nerve impingement as part of problem, leaving other issues to be treated and dealt with.  Here is a short run down of what nerves innervate what organs:
    Heart T1-T8
  • Lung T3-T9
  • Esophagus T5-T6
  • Stomach T5-T9
  • Doudenum T6-T10
  • Jejunum T8-T11
  • Large Bowel T8-L1
  • Appendix T9-L1
  • Liver T6-T11
  • Spleen T7-T10
  • Gallbladder T6-T11
  • Pancreas T7-T10
  • Kidney T9-L2
  • Ureter T9-L2
  • Testis/Ovary T10-T11
  • Prostate T10-T11
  • Uterus T12-L1

Before you go too long between your next adjustment remember two things; first, your nerves affect your organs and misalignments don’t just come from falling down but simple repetitive activity like sitting at a desk in front of a computer. Second, a joint that is unmoving for as little as one month will begin to show and develop arthritic changes (meaning that arthritis can develop from simply sitting at a desk and allowing a joint to remain stuck for long periods of time).

TMJ and Acupuncture

6 Feb 2017 Pain, Your Overall Health , ,

TMJ and Acupuncture

What is TMJ/TMD?

TMJ stands for Temporomandibular Joint.  The actual disorders associated with this joint are more appropriately termed TMD and refer to issues in the muscles and bones around the jaw.  Often patients report pain, clicking, lock jaw, headaches, and neck pain associated with TMJ dysfunction.

What causes TMJ/TMD?

The patient might have a history of clenching or grinding their teeth or inflammation in the joint itself.  This could be from an injury in the area or chronic muscle tightness in the neck that affects the jaw. Dental work can also contribute to TMJ pain.  The patient may feel jaw pain following a root canal, implant work, wisdom teeth extraction, amalgam removal etc.  Other possible issues that can contribute to or exacerbate pain in the jaw are fibromyalgia, stress, systemic imbalances, and sinus problems.

What can I do to relieve TMJ/TMD pain?Acupuncture can work wonders!

We look at patterns in the body and use needles and/or massage to open the channels and bring balance to the affected area.  Acupuncture helps to move qi and blood thereby reducing inflammation, increasing circulation and relieving pain.  Other specialists can help in conjunction with acupuncture such as chiropractors and physical therapists. We recommend seeking practitioners who look at the body as a whole to identify stress/injury patterns. Please ask for referrals if needed!

Case Study

A 48 year old male presents with TMJ pain after having several amalgams replaced by his dentist.  He was experiencing acute pain in his jaw accompanied by neck and shoulder pain, headaches, and sinus congestion. The range of motion in his jaw was limited. He had a chiropractic treatment to address the alignment and spacing in the jaw area and felt that after being adjusted, the pain remained and the range of motion had not improved. He had also tried physical therapy and diligently did the recommended stretches and strengthening exercises.  With this treatment, he felt some improvement but the issue was still unresolved.  The patient had been dealing with high levels of work-related stress for the past 6 months.

Outcome: After 6 acupuncture treatments, the TMJ pain had completely resolved and the range of motion returned to normal. The patient reported improved sleep as well!

The practitioner focused on opening circulation in the face and jaw area.  Reducing stress and rebalancing the channels was also a major component of the treatment plan.  His high levels of stress were causing an underlying holding and tightening in the body and face that was preventing the release of pain. The chiropractic treatment addressed the misalignment of the jaw. Physical therapy worked to strengthen and balance the muscles in the face area. Acupuncture addressed the stress patterns so the body was able to relax and release the tension.

written by Iris Martin

Headaches & Acupuncture

14 Jun 2016 Pain, Your Overall Health

Many people suffer from frequent headaches. There are many types of headaches. For treatment to be beneficial it is necessary to differentiate the causative factors. Acupuncture is a safe, drug-free alternative headache treatment without side effects.

Stress induced/tension headaches

Busy lifestyles and work schedules can create high levels of stress. When the body is in a constant or frequent state of stress, blood and qi stagnates in the body. Often, this manifests as a headache. It is important to incorporate stress-reducing activities in your daily life to keep the blood and qi moving smoothly throughout the body. Acupuncture has been shown to greatly reduce stress and promote relaxation. For more on the science behind acupuncture and stress relief, check out this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/16/acupuncture-could-help-prevent-stress_n_2883996.html

Also, poor ergonomically designed work spaces can create tension in the upper back and neck which can lead to headache. Acupuncture can help headaches caused by postural issues by needling, cupping, or using gua sha to release the affected muscles. However, it is important to note that it will often come back if the posture isn’t corrected.

Migraine

The cause of migraines can be varied and complex. Therefore, the diagnosis and protocol decided upon by your practitioner can be quite varied as well. It is important for the patient to notice patterns and signs associated with their migraines as acupuncture can be a very effective preemptive tool to prevent the full onset from occurring. At the first sign, call and get an acupuncture appointment as soon as possible.

In treating other types of headaches, it is quite common for needles to be placed on the head and neck. For migraines, the protocol can be quite different. As acupuncture needles promote qi and blood circulation into whatever area of the body they are placed, with migraines we want to draw the energy out of the head and down into the body and lower limbs. If the migraine is especially severe, the patient may not be able to tolerate needles on the head as well.

Headache related to sickness (Head cold/flu)

Varying symptoms guide us to the pattern with which the patient is presenting. Chinese Medicine is very centered around the idea of opposites (i.e. yin/yang, hot/cold etc.) so symptoms such as fever vs. chills (or both alternating) or dry vs. productive cough help to point the practitioner in the right direction. Once the correct diagnosis is made, herbs and points can help address the symptoms and many others including headache.

The location of the pain on the head indicates which channels are affected. Needling specific points along these channels can greatly and in many times instantly alter, decrease, or eliminate the headache.

Cycle-related headache

Some women experience headaches before, during, and/or after menstruation. The timing of a headache in relationship to a woman’s cycle can indicate different pathology patterns. The location of the headache also gives us as practitioners a lot of insight about the channels that are affected. For more in depth information on the varying types of menstrual headaches and useful herbal combinations, go here: http://www.acupuncture.com/Conditions/menseheadache.htm

Red flag headaches

If you have any of the following types of headaches you should seek urgent medical care.

  • Thunderclap
  • Sudden onset with severe pain
  • Headache accompanied by fever or neck pain
  • Onset after the age of 50
  • Neurological signs (confusion, change in personality, unconsciousness)
  • Following a neck injury or adjustment

Tips for avoiding headaches

  • Drink plenty of water
  • Exercise regularly
  • Avoid alcohol, coffee, and chocolate
  • Introduce meditation or other stress-reducing activities into your life
  • Get regular acupuncture!!

As always, with our medicine, prevention is a key component. The more in-balance your body is, the less likely you are to suffer from pain of any kind.

Shoulder pain and decreased range of motion

5 Apr 2016 Pain, Your Overall Health

What are the causes of some shoulder pain?

Rotator cuff injury – tears or strains to the rotator cuff muscles
Rotator cuff tendinitis – this is inflammation of one of the rotator cuff muscles usually by overuse.
Frozen shoulder syndrome (adhesive capsulitis)
Thoracic outlet syndrome
Osteoarthritis
Rotator Cuff impingement syndrome
Bursitis
Tenosynovitis (inflammation of the tendon sheath)
Fibromyalgia
Ankylosing Spondylitis
Slipped Disc
Lung Cancer
Heart attack
Ectopic Pregnancy

Sometimes the causes of pain are due to an injury whether from a repetitive motion or trauma, even more rare is when it is due to a referred pain like ectopic pregnancy or heart attack that refers into the arm and shoulder (these are less common and are a medical emergency).

What is the rotator cuff?

The rotator cuff is made up of 4 muscles, the ball and socket joint and capsule and 2 bones.

Bones: Scapula, humerus
Muscles: Supraspinatus, infraspinatus, teres minor and subscapularis muscle.
Joint: The ball and socket joint is where the scapula and the humerus meet and they have a capsule encasing them with capsular ligaments (ligaments attach bone to bone) and then again encased by the tendons of the 4 muscles listed above.

What are the most common injuries?

1. Rotator Cuff Tendinitis – is by far the most common of the injuries and it is when you repetitively do a motion like painting, keyboard work at a computer or throwing a ball like a pitcher. The tendon usually near its insertion onto the humerus will become hot, painful and swollen.

2. Rotator Cuff Tear – often occurs after tendonitis has been present for sometime or some other wear and tear that finally causes the tendon or muscle to snap leaving the arm weaker.
3. Frozen shoulder (adhesive capsulitis)–is by far more common in women and usually around the 40’s and 50 years of age. The humerus usually adheres to the scapula and the muscular capsule becomes adhesive like glue making reaching things over the head difficult or sometimes even impossible. There is no known direct cause for this condition.

4. Rotator Cuff Impingement syndrome–when one of the 4 muscles talked about earlier becomes pinched by usually a bony prominence of the scapula. The most common muscle of the 4 for this to occur to is the supraspinatus.

5. Osteoarthritis–when the bones start to develop signs of wear and tear showing an increase in bone on some parts of the humerus and scapula and a decrease of bone on other parts.

How is my shoulder pain diagnosed?

The most common type of diagnostic tools are orthopedic tests like the painful arc test (lifting the arm from your side to beyond 90 degrees). Physical or manual muscle tests are performed to see if there is a weakness present in the muscle or if pain occurs suggesting damage. X Rays are done to see if there is arthritis followed by MRI’s to see if there are muscle tears or inflammation.

How is shoulder pain treated?

Chiropractic care does testing to determine if there is a misalignment of the humerus or scapula and also the thoracic and cervical vertebra as they are a common area that refers pain into the shoulder. They will re-align the area, do muscle work and give at home exercises. If home exercises are not enough or the patient is unwilling to do them, we will refer the patient to a physical therapist for treatment.
Physical therapy will work to reduce inflammation and pain and strengthen the rotator cuff muscles as well as the trunk muscles so that misalignment is corrected and future injury is prevented.
Injections done by a pain specialist or an orthopedic surgeon are done in connection with physical therapy or chiropractic care and it is used to stop inflammation that allows for healing.
Surgery is done when repair of a muscle tear is needed and it can be open surgery or arthroscopic.
Acupuncture is done to break the pain cycle and is helpful in cases with arthritis and tendonitis.

Pain and Acupuncture

5 Apr 2016 Pain, Your Overall Health

How does acupuncture effect pain?

Acupuncture works in a variety of ways to ease pain.  It releases endorphins which are our bodies’ natural painkilling chemicals.  Acupuncture also acts on serotonin levels and it has been shown that opioid peptides are released during acupuncture as well. Acupuncture also reduces inflammation and increases blood flow and circulation providing drug-free pain relief.

Does acupuncture help with chronic or acute pain?

Our medicine treats a wide variety of both acute and chronic issues. In acute cases, we can often help the pain subside completely, whereas in cases of chronic pain, acupuncture can be a very helpful tool to manage pain safely on a long-term basis with little to no side effects.

What are some examples of conditions treated with acupuncture?

Injury/trauma
Headache
Menstrual cramps
Lupus
Sciatica
Chronic Pain Syndrome
Arthritis
Carpal Tunnel
Cancer related pain
Post-surgery recovery

What kinds of modalities are used by acupuncturists to treat pain?

Massage–We use a variety of massage techniques to relieve tension, promote blood flow, and to open the channels.
Cupping–Suction cups are placed over affected areas to draw out stagnation and promote blood flow.
Electric stimulation–Small electrical current is delivered to selected acupuncture needles to promote blood circulation, decrease inflammation and alleviate pain.

Pain facts

Pain affects more Americans than diabetes, heart disease and cancer combined.
1 in every 4 Americans have suffered from pain lasting longer than 24 hours and millions more suffer from acute pain.
Pain is the most common reason Americans access the health care system.
It is a leading cause of disability and is a major contributor to health care costs.
Pain is a significant public health problem that costs 560-635 billion dollars annually.
Adults with lower back pain are 4 times as likely to experience serious psychological distress when compared to those with no lower back pain.

Iris Martin LAc.

Tendonitis: the injury that happens behind a computer

30 Dec 2015 Pain, Your Overall Health ,

What is Tendonitis?

It is the inflammation of the soft tissue specifically the muscle that connects to the bone.

What are the most common types of tendonitis?

Tennis Elbow
Golfer’s Elbow
Achilles Tendinitis
De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis
Swimmer’s Shoulder
Patella Tendinitis
Tendinitis of the Wrist

Why does Tendonitis occur?

It occurs when extra strain is placed on a joint, bone and muscle either slowly and respectively over time or all at once in a more traumatic injury way. It usually occurs in people over age 40 due to the decrease of the tendon’s ability to tolerate stress.

What are the common causes of tendonitis?

Gardening
Raking
Working on a computer for greater than 4 hours a day
Cleaning
Tennis
Golf
Throwing or pitching
Scrubbing
Incorrect Posture
Joint misalignment or abnormal joint length
Doing to much too soon on a tendon that isn’t used to a particular type of movement. (Weekend Warrior)
Occasionally due to infections
Inflammatory diseases like gout, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis

What are the symptoms of tendonitis?

Pain and loss of motion are the most common symptoms. Pain usually starts localized on the spot where the muscle attaches to the tendon and can radiate to other areas. The pain can either build up slowly or come on suddenly and severely.

How is tendonitis treated?

Rest the injured area
Ice the injured area
Seek chiropractic care – usually treated by adjusting the joint then performing the Graston Technique and cross fractionating the tendon.
Anti-inflammatory botanical medicine or over-the-counter anti-inflammatories (these can be topical or oral).
Corticosteroids injections are sometimes necessary.
In very rare cases surgery is necessary.

TMJ (temporomandibular joint) Pain and Dysfunction

25 Mar 2015 Pain, Your Overall Health ,

TMJ (temporomandibular joint) Pain and Dysfunction

85-90% of people will experience a TMJ-related symptom in their lifetime according to one study. Women tend to be affected more severely than men.

What is the TMJ?

The TMJ is the joint that allows you to open, close, and move your mouth from side to side. There is a small disc inside the joint for cushion that allows smooth movement. It involves a complex set of muscles which surround it, namely the temporalis, masseter, and pterygoids felt inside the mouth. Its proximity to the neck and ear make those two areas common sites for referred pain from the TMJ.

What are some complaints related to TMJ Dysfunction?

Headache
Ear Pain
Face pain on one side
TMJ pain with opening and closing the mouth
Joint sounds
Difficulty chewing
Ringing in the ear
Dizziness
Neck stiffness
Sinus congestion

What are some causes of TMJ Dysfunction?

Direct trauma to the joint
Whiplash
Arthritis
Significant dental issues

What are some signs of TMJ Dysfunction?

Local pain
Clicking or popping in the joint
Inability to open the mouth fully
Fatigue with chewing
Jaw locking
Grinding sounds with opening and closing the mouth

How is TMJ pain/dysfunction treated?

All the surrounding muscles will be evaluated and released with soft tissue therapy
A safe and gentle adjustment will be done with the Activator tool on the side of restriction
The neck will be evaluated and treated in a similar manner to relieve the stress it may put on the TMJ
If dental involvement is significant, we would refer to a dentist who specializes in TMJ problems
References:
Souza, Thomas. Differential Diagnosis and Management for the Chiropractor: Protocols and Algorithms. Jones & Bartlett Learning; 4th edition (2009).

By: Dr. Eugenie Giasson-Gomez

1 2

Search

+