Jaw pain is a fairly typical condition experienced by many people after a car crash, and it can be confusing for some doctors to identify the root of the problem. Complicating the matter, oftentimes you won't develop TMJ pain until many weeks or months after the original injury.

Dr. Dahlager has helped many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the scientific literature explains what triggers these types of symptoms. During a collision, the tissues in your neck are frequently stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve injury. This can obviously cause pain in the neck and back, but since your central nervous system is one functioning unit, inflammation 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 and hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injured tissues, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a crash are very common because of neck injury, and the TMJ works the same way. Dr. Dahlager sees this very commonly in our Noblesville office.

Research Proves Chiropractic Helps TMJ Pain After an Auto Accident

Research shows that the source of many jaw or TMJ problems begins in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck injury can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The key to resolving these symptoms is simple: Dr. Dahlager will work to restore your spinal column back to health, decreasing the inflammation, treating the injured areas, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Dahlager finds that jaw and headache issues often resolve once we restore your spine to its healthy state.

If you reside in Noblesville and you've been injured in a crash, Dr. Dahlager can help. We've been working with auto injury patients since 1991, and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (317) 214-7218 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.