TMJ Treatment in Vero Beach, FL

Temporomandibular disorder, also called TMJ (the J is for "joint") is a painful condition that affects your jaw joint, particularly where your skull meets the lower part of your jaw. It occurs when the muscles around the joint get tight, pulling the skull and jaw closer together and causing them to become misaligned. It can be caused by stress, teeth grinding, suboptimal posture, and injuries to the jaw area. It can be quite painful, and can even restrict your jaw's full range of motion in certain cases, making it challenging to take big bites of food, get dental work done, brush your teeth, and even speak clearly. Even if you can still do all of these things, they can be quite painful with TMJ.

What Can Chiropractic Do to Treat TMJ?

When the skull and jaw become pushed closer together than they were meant to be, it puts pressure on the nearby vertebrae, causing them to become compressed or misaligned. It can even cause ligaments to stretch or tear enough to pull a vertebrae out of its position. This causes cranial pain, muscle tension, neck pain, jaw joint pain, and more. If left untreated, the bones in the vertebrae joints and the jaw joint can become worn down, rubbing against each other in a way that requires radical pain relief techniques to correct.

A chiropractor at Buck Chiropractic will look at your jaw, your vertebrae near it, and your lifestyle in general, in order to come up with a customized treatment protocol for you that is unique to you alone. Everyone is different, and so there is no one-size-fits-all treatment for any one thing. A chiropractor also knows that a holistic approach to wellness is best for fixing most things, particularly pain management issues like TMJ.

At your chiropractor session, the doctor may perform adjustments to the affected vertebrae near your skull and jaw, using the adjustments to relieve pressure on irritated nerves, ligaments, tendons, and muscles, and to restore the range of motion of your jaw. Massage may also be used to relieve the pain in your jaw and any head pain you may be experiencing because of the TMJ issues.

You may also be given instruction in having proper posture, physical therapy exercises to keep the area around your skull and jaw strong, including the vertebrae near it that are affected by the jaw issues, and stress remedies to keep you relaxed. In addition, dental devices to keep you from grinding your teeth may also be recommended or prescribed. These are all effective ways chiropractic medicine can treat TMJ and relive the pain for good.

Schedule an Appointment Today

Contact us today at 772-569-0500 to make an appointment for your first consultation, evaluation, and treatment. We conveniently serve the Vero Beach area. We are looking forward to meeting you and welcoming you to our chiropractic practice family.