Jaw pain is a fairly typical problem experienced by people after a auto injury, and it can be hard for some physicians to find the source of the issue. Complicating the matter, oftentimes you won't experience TMJ pain until many weeks or months after the incident.
Drs. Matt & Annie Reyes has treated many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the scientific research explains what causes these types of symptoms. During a auto injury, the tissues in your spine are oftentimes stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve damage. This can clearly cause pain in the neck and back, but since your nervous system is one functioning unit, inflammation of the nerves can cause issues in other parts of your body.
For instance, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause tingling or numbness in the arm and hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injury, like your head and jaw. Headaches after auto accident are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. Drs. Matt & Annie Reyes sees this very frequently in our State College office.
Studies have shown that the source of many jaw or TMJ symptoms originates in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The secret to dealing with these symptoms is simple: Drs. Matt & Annie Reyes will work to restore your spine back to health, reducing the inflammation, treating the injured tissues, and eliminating the irritation to the nerves in your spine.
Drs. Matt & Annie Reyes finds that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy state.
If you reside in State College and you've been hurt in a car crash, Drs. Matt & Annie Reyes can help. We've been working with auto injury patients for many years and we can most likely help you, too. Give our office a call today at (814) 308-9352 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.
Dr. Matt Reyes was born and raised in Apalachin, a small town in Upstate New York. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in Fitness Development from the State University at New York College at Cortland. He then fulfilled his ambition to become a Doctor of Chiropractic when he graduated from New York Chiropractic College in 2013.
