Neck and shoulder related symptoms
Neck pain and stiffness
The neck consists of various layers of muscles that help in moving and tilting your head. When one or more of these muscles are strained or injured by any accident it immediately contracts or goes in spasm to limit further movements by the muscle. This results in pain on voluntary movement of the neck commonly referred to as a stiff neck or frozen neck. Because neck muscles are often strained as a result of our body's compensatory mechanism to a Temporomandibular Dysfunction and Obstructive Sleep Apnoea a TMD specialist can help you get relief from these symptoms just by adjusting your bite. Let us evaluate you.
Shoulder Pain/droop
Normally both your right and left shoulders are at the same level when you stand straight. Whenever there is a muscular imbalance or strain the shoulder muscles tend to get wound up causing one side of the shoulder to rise and the other side to droop. This is often accompanied by neck pain, lower back pain, postural changes, and difficulty in the free movement of the arm joints. You will be surprised to know how small changes in your TMJ caused by a bad or uneven bite can often manifest as neck or shoulder pain.
​
Fibromyalgia
Do you have painful tender points on your neck that hurt no matter what medications you take and are they accompanied by sleep problems and fatigue? Maybe you also have been diagnosed with a poorly understood rare condition known as fibromyalgia with no treatment other than lifelong medication. But what if the root cause of the pains in your neck was probably lying in your Temporomandibular joint? Proper diagnosis is key in such medical conditions and that is why you should go to a TMJ specialist who may be able to provide you with a life-altering non-surgical treatment option.
​​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
​
Cervical spondylitis
The human body as a whole works on the principle of compensation. When there is a temporomandibular joint disorder, the muscles connected to the TMJ on the face that helps in its routine functions, are strained and try to compensate for the damage in the joint till they fatigue. Gradually the compensatory mechanism affects the neck muscles and eventually, your vertebrae or spine bears the brunt of the problem that began at the TMJ. Each individual has a unique compensation limit beyond which, they will suffer from pain in the neck and shoulder while moving it in any direction or when engaged in routine activities that require holding the neck in one position for long such as driving or working on the computer. A TMJ specialist doctor along with a physiotherapist can help you in such conditions without lifelong medications.
​
Tingling/Numbness of digits
Tingling or numbing sensations spreading in your arms, legs, fingers, or toes can be because of nerve entrapment occurring in your upper back/spine region which occurs as a result of compensatory postural changes by the back and shoulder muscles to minimize the effects of a damaged TMJ.
​
Forward head posture and Head tilt
Have you noticed yourself or has someone told you that you are not standing straight? Are you slouching forward without realizing it? There is a definite link between a bad posture and the TMJ. An uneven bite and imbalanced TMJ can cause excessive contraction of the muscles of your face causing an upward and forward pull of the muscles that hold the head straight leading to a forward head posture. As the rest of the muscles start working on the principle of compensatory mechanism to keep up, you would start noticing yourself having a shoulder droop and further down, one side of the hip raised
​
​