TMJ
Temporomandibular joint, or
TMJ, is the joint where the jaw hinges to the skull just in
front of the ear. This joint is held together by a complex
system of muscles, tendons, and ligaments which help it move up
to 2000 times a day, making it the most active joint in the
body. Symptoms of TMJ disorder include clicking or popping in
the jaw, headaches, earaches, neck pain, and sensitive teeth.
The causes for TMJ disorder are
many, including dental problems, whiplash injury to the neck,
grinding and clenching teeth, and injury to the jaw.
Regardless of the cause, there is almost always involvement of
the neck muscles.
The prolonged contraction of the
jaw and neck muscles can produce vertebral misalignments in the
cervical spine. When the spine is misaligned, it can
irritate nerves causing irritability, anxiety, depression,
headaches, pain or numbness in the arms and hands, and
backaches.
Chiropractic, using specific
adjustments, carefully realigns the bones which cause the muscle
spasms to relax.
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