Migraines, Headaches, Neck Pain
 An
estimated 80% of all headaches occur from muscle tension. Many
tension headaches are related to your bite. Approximately 40% of all
“healthy” people suffer from chronic headaches. Today, there is a
growing realization that a common cause of tension headaches is the
mal-alignment of the jaw to the skull, a craniomandibular
dysfunction.
Tension headaches result from muscle stress or
strain. Specific signs which indicate your headache may have a
dental origin include: pain behind the eyes, sore or tired jaw
muscles upon awakening, grinding teeth, clicking/popping jaw joints
or scalp painful to the touch. The muscles that control your jaw and
hold your head upright are very complex. If your jaw is unstable
(unbalanced), the muscles must work harder to bring your teeth
together, the resulting stress causes a tension headache.
When muscles are tense they shorten. When even a
single jaw, neck or shoulder muscle becomes shortened, all of the
other muscles are forced to overwork to keep the head balanced on
top of the spinal column. We understand then that dental tension
headache pain originates from an unstable bite that causes stress in
the muscles of the jaw, head and neck. The pain makes you feel tense
and uptight. This worsens the muscle spasm, which in turn increases
the pain.
Chronic head and neck pain patients do not always
respond to physical therapy or medical treatment as well as
expected. Patients, who have unresolved headaches, neck and shoulder
pain, earaches, or dizziness, may have an undiagnosed
craniomandibular dysfunction. Because of the nature of the typical
subjective symptoms associated with this disorder patients
frequently seek treatment from physicians for their primary care.
However, many patients never think to seek the special training of a
qualified TMD/TMJ dentist to evaluate the craniomandibular system of
bones, joints and muscles.
Are you living with headaches, neck or facial
pain?
Are you tired and frustrated with treatment that just hasn’t worked?
Learn what we already know about your pain. Please contact our
office at (201) 945-1094.
Your health is your most precious possession.
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