29 Jan Ending Chronic Headaches with Personalized TMJ Treatments
The challenges associated with chronic headaches extend far beyond the discomfort in your head. the resulting stress, sleep disturbances, lost productivity, and other complications all result in a poor of quality of life. These difficulties interfere with your everyday life and can also be a financial burden. While chronic headaches aren’t life-threatening, they can be debilitating.
If you’re having long-lasting and frequent episodes of headaches, it’s time to think about what’s causing them. The exact source of your headache will determine the best treatment options. If you’re getting tension or migraine-type headaches, one of the reasons behind them could be dysfunctional TMJ. TMJ symptoms often manifest as headaches. If there seem to be no other complications leading to your chronic headaches, schedule a consultation with a TMJ dentist that has extensive TMJ treatment experience and get a personalized plan, putting your headaches to an end for good.
What Exactly Is TMJ?
TMJ or temporomandibular joint are the two hinge-like joints connecting your lower jaw to the skull. There’s one on each side of the face, right in front of the ears, for functions like talking, chewing, laughing, yawning, etc. It’s a complex joint supporting various movements necessary for enjoying a good quality of life. Repetitive motions, improper care, underlying health conditions, trauma, or injury can impact the surrounding areas and cause dysfunction or restricted movements.
How Does TMJ Turn Into A Disorder?
When the intricate system of TMJ doesn’t perform as it’s supposed to, this can lead to a TMJ disorder. The surrounding bones, tissues, muscles, and ligaments become overly stressed resulting in several uncomfortable symptoms and functional challenges. You may experience pain, soreness, stiffness, and numbness in your face, neck, shoulders, and head. These could be caused by stress, hormonal factors, nighttime clenching, nail-biting, impact injuries, dental structure abnormalities, arthritis or other degenerative conditions, or sometimes other factors. Many of the TMJ symptoms, including headaches, can be persistent and frustrating, requiring timely care and intervention.
The Connection between TMJ and Headaches
TMJ disorders can lead to frequent headaches. The reason? Any tension in the muscles around the TMJ that connect with your facial and head muscles can trigger painful headaches and migraines. Apart from tensed muscles, jaw misalignment can be the major culprit. Another reason for TMJ headaches is an inflammation in the trigeminal nerve responsible for the functioning of your teeth and jaw as well as 40% of your brain functions. This nerve inflammation can have a domino effect and impact all associated areas of the body, including your head.
Identifying TMJ Headaches
TMJ headaches can be dull or sharp and can come and go initially. As the disorder progresses, your headaches can become chronic. You’d feel tension originating from behind the eyes or neck, around the forehead, and spreading all over the face. If there’s also clicking and popping in your jaw, pain around the jaw joints, ringing in the ears, or difficulty moving your mouth, know that it can lead to a TMJ-related headache. In most cases, a TMJ headache will be accompanied by a number of other symptoms, differentiating it from a non-TMJ headache.
Possible Treatment Options
If TMJ pains are left untreated, your headaches can be a struggle. It disrupts your life significantly, and seeking expert advice offers lasting relief. A TMJ specialist in Chicago, IL, can exclusively focus on diagnosing and treating the root cause of your pains, offering the most effective and refined TMJ treatment options. Some of the commonly used advanced TMJ treatment options can include the following:
Oral Devices
First, your chosen TMJ specialist in Chicago may suggest using oral appliances to alleviate the TMJ strain. Nightguards and splints are two common devices that prevent teeth grinding and reposition your jaw to reduce muscle tension and relieve pains.
Physical Therapy
Apart from oral appliances, physical therapy also helps significantly. You can greatly benefit from jaw exercises, posture improvement, dietary modifications, sleep hygiene, and stress management techniques. Manual therapy also helps with the pressure, improving jaw functioning and reducing tension headaches.
Botox for TMJ
Botox for TMJ is a game-changing dental treatment today. It’s an innovative and effective procedure that’s not just useful for cosmetic purposes but also dental uses. Since Botox paralysis the muscles it is administered into, this helps relax the overactive muscles surrounding your TMJ to reduce tension and alleviate chronic headaches. Click here to know more about Botox for TMJ.
Partner With a Specialist for Better Assistance
If you’re struggling with TMJ pains and other symptoms, you must see a specialist for comprehensive care and solutions. While a general dentist can offer some basic treatment options, you need a specialist to address the root cause and provide lasting relief. Chicago is home to some of the best TMJ experts offering advanced treatments. If you have persistent jaw pain, difficulty opening or closing your mouth, facial pain, and headaches that don’t seem to improve with standard therapies, someone like Dr. Margaret Mitchell at Mitchell TMJ Institute can help you with a personalized TMJ management plan.
Dr. Mitchell is a trusted TMJ specialist in the Chicago area. She utilizes cutting-edge diagnostic tools and employs her years of expertise to determine the exact cause of your problem. She also thoroughly evaluates factors like bite alignment, range of motion, inflammation or abnormalities, etc., to reach the right resolution. This analysis helps her develop a targeted treatment plan for individual needs only specialists can offer. Book your appointment with Dr. Margaret Mitchell today to get started and experience a pain-free life.
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