Headaches, neck, and jaw: they’re all related!

It’s easy to think of our musculoskeletal problems as independent of others, but in most cases, they tend to be related to one another.  The research article that will be referenced in this blog looked at TMD (temporomandibular dysfunction, aka jaw issues) with and without reported headaches and neck function.  The results show why it’s so important to get the big picture in regard to pain and function instead of just a focused look at only the area of the body you are experiencing symptoms.

The study found that in EVERY subject with TMD, no matter if they had self-reported headaches or not, there was decreased neck function.  If this doesn’t prove that jaw and neck are related, and more importantly that care providers need to be looking outside the area of complaint, I don’t know what does.

Next is the logical questions of “well then which came first the jaw issue or the neck problem?”.  The answer is it doesn’t really matter because both need to be addressed. Now, will you get relief if you get treatment on just one of these areas, most likely yes.  However, the issue will commonly return because the root cause of the issue has not been fully addressed.  

The chiropractors at Elite Sport and Spine take the time to fully examine where you are hurting along with the surrounding regions to truly get to the cause of your problem.  This means better focused care for our patients, fewer number of visits, less time in pain, and quicker returns to doing the things they love.

Schedule a free consultation or jump right in with a new patient appointment so we can get to the root of your problem!

Here is a link to the article that was referenced in this week’s blog: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31292981.