Jaw Pain Treatment

Elite Chiropractic & Sport is located in Columbia,  Howard County happily serving all of Maryland.

Condition:  Jaw Pain

Medical Name:  TMJ (Temporomandibular Joint) Pain

What it is:  Pain in the joint that hinges when you move your jaw.  It’s commonly referred to as “jaw pain”.  The exact cause can be difficult to determine, but includes genetics, arthritis, an injury, or aberrant jaw motion.

Typical treatment: Your dentist might give you a night guard if you clench your teeth.  Other treatment includes trigger point injection and, medications.

How we treat it:  There are multiple muscles involved in your jaw opening and closing.  It can be “as simple” as finding what muscles aren’t working right or are spasm and fixing that issue.  If you get the muscles to work correctly, the jaw motion can normalize, which can get rid of the pain.  Postural exercises are also key in the rehab of jaw pain.  If you slouch or your posture is bad, it changes the biomechanics of your jaw, making it harder to open your mouth.

Josh’s take:  To treat this properly, you need to identify all muscles involved, both the outside jaw muscles and inside jaw muscles.  The medial pterygoid muscle is often very tight and spasmed in people with jaw pain, so if you can release that, you can help the problem significantly.

Book your appointment now to help get your problem fixed fast!