Hi, I’m Dr. Bryce Benson. I’m with Northern Lakes Chiropractic, and I’m gonna go over TMJ, the second most common musculoskeletal dysfunction that we see today. Number one being back pain, which we love seeing. Second being TMJ, which we also love seeing.
The TMJ Is Just a Joint
It might surprise you because a lot of people have done maybe injections, splinting, maybe even a surgery, but chiropractic is one of the best solutions for TMJ. And let me explain that so it makes a little bit more sense.
So the TMJ is just a joint, just like a joint in your back or your elbow. You’ve probably heard of chiropractors adjusting the back, elbows, wrists, and it works really well. The TMJ is just a joint as well.
How We Evaluate the TMJ
The way we evaluate that is we have you come in for the first day, do a consultation, we might take X-rays, and then we’ll do some orthopedic testing to see exactly how the TMJ is not functioning properly.
What we’ll see when you lay on the table is the joint moving properly and healthily if it’s even. So when you open your mouth, it should open like this. It’s nice and even on both sides. It doesn’t deviate to one side or the other.
What’ll happen, though, is when that joint doesn’t work properly, when you open your mouth, it’ll deviate towards the right, and it can even deviate towards the left. And that’s telling us that there’s a dysfunction in the joint itself.
Starting With Chiropractic Care for TMJ
So if you are dealing with TMJ, and you’ve been dealing with these issues for a long time, a minimally invasive treatment you can do right away is chiropractic care.
If you’re dealing with any of these, make sure to come to the office. At the very least, we can point you in the right direction, but it’s a great way to start in making sure that we find a good solution to your TMJ.
