Beaverton, OR TMJ Pain and Auto Injury

Jaw pain is a fairly common problem experienced by people after a car crash, and it can be challenging for some doctors to identify the source of the problem. Complicating the issue, very often you won't develop TMJ pain until many weeks or months after the original injury.

Dr. Christopher Hugon has helped many people with jaw pain after an injury, and the scientific research explains what produces these types of problems. During a crash, the tissues in your neck are frequently stretched or torn, causing ligament, muscle, or nerve damage. This can clearly cause pain in the neck and back, but since your nervous system is one functioning unit, inflammation of the nerves can cause issues in other parts of your body.

For instance, with radicular pain, irritation of a nerve can cause prickling or numbness in the arm or hand. Similarly, it can affect parts of your body above the injury, like your head and jaw. Headaches after a wreck are very common because of neck injury, and the jaw works the same way. Dr. Christopher Hugon sees this very frequently in our Beaverton, OR office.

Studies have shown that the root of many jaw or TMJ symptoms begins in the cervical spine and that treatment of the underlying neck problem can resolve the secondary headaches or jaw symptoms. The secret to resolving these symptoms is simple: Dr. Christopher Hugon will work to restore your spine back to health, alleviating the inflammation, treating the injured tissues, and removing the irritation to the nerves in your spine.

Dr. Christopher Hugon has found that jaw and headache symptoms often resolve once we return your spine to its healthy condition.

If you live in Beaverton, OR and you've been hurt in a crash, Dr. Christopher Hugon can help. We've been working with auto injury patients and we can probably help you, too. Give our office a call today at (503) 590-4000 for an appointment.

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.