Depression
Norfolk Virginia TMJ Dentist
Depression
There is no question that chronic pain very commonly causes symptoms of depression. Nobody likes to be in pain and unfortunately nobody like to be around somebody who suffers from chronic pain. Patients who suffer from depression many times have problems with their families at home. We commonly hear from a patient’s spouse how the depression affects the home life. There is an unfortunate amount of people who suffer from TMJ that also suffer from depression. The depression so commonly is misdiagnosed or dismissed as having no physical cause. There is also scientific evidence that shows that patients with chronic pain, a condition that nearly all TMJ patients can claim, have chemical changes in the brain as a result of the pain.
If the depression is severe, many patients need to work with more that one specialist to return to optimal health. Many patients also work with a psychological counselor as well as a chiropractor or physician. Luckily, some patients experience complete relief from the care and treatment of their neuromuscular dentist and do not need the multi-disciplinary approach. Your Neuromuscular Dentist can discuss the many options for treatment that you have.
Dr. Carol F. Morgan, DDS, can help your problems associated with TMJ disorders whether you live in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Hampton, Newport News, York County, Williamsburg or any other surrounding city in Hampton Roads.
Headaches and Migraine headaches are a very common symptoms of Temporomandibular (TMJ) Disorder. It is common to hear patients report that they feel like there is a vise on their heads or the pressure is unbearable. Many patients take extraordinary amounts of prescription and over-the-counter medication to include Excedrin®, Tylenol® and Advil™ or Ibuprofen searching for relief. Do not be surprised if “medication therapy” only gives slight relief or only temporary relief.
from migraine or tension headaches, they may be caused by your occlusion (bite). The good news is, that if it is your bite that is the cause of your headaches, it is easy to treat and correct. The pain you have in you head and neck could be due to the fact that your jaw is not resting where it wants to be, leaving your jaw muscles in a state of chronic contraction (spasm).
When your occlusion (bite) is not in its proper Neuromuscular alignment, the muscles of the jaw, face and head are overworked and their normal working cycle is disrupted. The headache pain that this disruption may cause can be excruciating.
When the bite of a patient does not fit correctly, many times the head will not be properly aligned with the spine, as the body tries to compensate for the pain the patient is realizing. We find many times a patient’s head will lean forward which is the body’s response to make the bite feel better and allow the patient’s airway to open more. As you can imagine, as the head leans forward, this causes a tremendous amount of strain on the muscles of the neck, shoulder and upper back. The average weight of a human head is between 12 and 15 pounds. There is much less strain on the muscles of the neck, shoulder and back to hold the head in its anatomically correct position directly above the shoulders.