Had my first visit yesterday. He said my neck muscles were hard as wood. He worked on them. I am really sore today. He said he has worked with a lot of tmj patients and is very informative about the jaw and wants to adjust my jaw too. I told him I'd have to think about it. He has been practicing 15 years and also is Certified in Sports Medicine. I got moist heat and massage before my adjustment.
He comes highly recommeded and my family dr. refers pts to him. I sure hope this helps.
I really hope this helps you. The soreness will ease up and not be so bad going forward. He is stimulating muscles and nerves that are not being used properly or at all in some cases so the soreness is kind of a good thing. My doctor pooh poohs chiros but I thought it helped. My reg chiro used to adjust my jaw but it did tend to bring on more spasms immediately afterward that would settle down after a few hours. But if your tmj is due to your bite being off the effects don't last. If he offers traction - do it. Its kind of like a neck brace pillow that he inflates while you are laying on your back. It would take about 15 mins. If your neck tends to be forward or tilted down a lot this will help decompress the nerves and muscles around the neck and throat. Also, have you asked your doctor about physical therapy centers? My dentist recommended one where the therapist was trained to treat tmj symptoms. While they don't adjust your neck or spine they generally do the moist heat, the tens unit, sound waves or sonogram, and really great face,neck, throat and spinal massages. My chiro used to coordinate my appts with him after my PT appts.
Thelma Louise
Thanks for the info on chiros. I did go to PT last year for it and it helped some. My chiro is also a Certified Sports Physician and he said he'll give me exercises in the future. I'll ask him about traction. I will be going in for a couple bite adjustments in the next few weeks- I just can't imagine that my bite is off too much anymore. Gees, everywhere I look I see people with bad bites. My girlfriend buxisms so bad she wore down all her front lower teeth and she doesn't suffer from tmjd issues. My MIL hasn't worn her lower dentures for years and she has no probs.
Your right even with him just working my neck I had more facial spasms since, so it must be doing something. It does seem like the buzzing an humming sounds in my ears are alittle less.
My dentist said the ear problems take the longest to go away, don't know how true that is. One thing that has become apparent to me is that my dentist is not going to fix this alone, that besides a dentist I think one needs someone to help with the muscles whether a massage therapist, PT, or a Chiro. I just never thought of seeing a chiro for this problem until I started reading on the net about Chiro and tmjd.
Well I've had 3 visits this week. He is really stretching my neck and shoulder muscles. He said my muscles feel like wood, so hard. I am glad that hes a Sport Physician Certified Chiro so he works on my muscles too, something I never thought to consider when looking for a Chiro , but just my luck. I'm not sure yet if he is helping the tmj but sure is helping to loosen my muscles up. My ear ringing has lessened a bit and I am beginning to have periods of "silence" now. He is telling me to keep my shoulders relaxed, and has gave me neck exercisers today. I did go in for a bite adjustment today also as one area felt higher. I have 3 visits next week, will report back then. Oh I want to add that I hurt like heck after a treatment but when you deal with the muscles its to be expected I guess. I feel like I went out and played volleyball for 8 hours if you know what I mean.
Yeah - I know what you mean. I had a chiro appt today and feel like I was punched on one side of my face. I go 2x a wk now and it seems like I just abuot recover from the adjustment and its time to go again. I keep telling myself it will get better. I too finally got rid of the ear ringing. Now if I could just open my mouth just once wide enough to eat real food......Keep the faith.
