This patient was involved in a motor vehicle accident 18 months before her physician referred her to our office. She developed severe headaches 2 weeks after her accident.
All x-rays and CatScans performed by her neurologist revealed no problems. Our x-rays and examination revealed no TMJoint problems or craniofacial deficiencies. However, she had severe headaches that nobody could diagnose or treat for more than one year.
Many patients will develop this "closed head injury" type problem after an accident. The brain tissue becomes a racquetball ball inside the skull bone during trauma. It bounces around like a ping-pong ball ...even during low velocity crashes. It only takes about 9 mph to cause brain injury and/or neck problems. Subsequently, the nervous system becomes unbalanced and patients can enter into RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). The sympathetic nervous system revs up and does not shut down. The parasympathetic nervous sytem does not get a chance to work and therefore the patient begins to break down.
Grinding, bruxing, clenching and abnormal muscle activity starts in the muscles of the head and neck. This patient was treated with a simple NTI device to "quiet" down her muscles and she was referred for physical and occupational therapy to help get her life back. Her headaches were gone within 3 weeks and she's finally back to work.
In a majority of the MVA patients that we see, there may be no signs of distress or pain during the first few weeks to months after an accident. However, headaches and joint damage can be noticed even years later. This is due to the whiplash effects upon the joint itself or upon the vertebrae of the neck.
Even mild trauma can tear the disk inside of the joint or between the vertebrae, however if the damage is minimal the symptoms do not manifest themselves for quite some time. It's like a rip in your socks. A small rip get bigger and bigger over time. Same with a ligament or disk in your body. That is the reason we tell all of our car accident victims to avoid closing their insurance claim too early. Wait at least 2 years and make sure no symptoms of damage arises, or your insurance will not cover the claim. It may take years for the damage to become apparent on an MRI or x-ray.
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Michigan residents can obtain more TMJ Migraine Treatment information here.
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