The temporomandibular joint, also known simply as TMJ, connects your jawbone to your skull like a sliding hinge. Sometimes, the cause of pain from TMJ can be due to other problems like arthritis. The pain many patients feel is in the jaw joint and in the muscles that control the jaw movement. It’s common for people to experience pain from TMJ and think they need assistance from a surgeon, an oral surgeon, or a dentist. Truthfully, our Oklahoma Pain Treatment Centers therapists can often help with this problem!

Sometimes, it can be difficult for patients to determine if the pain they’re feeling really is a problem with TMJ before they decide to come to visit our Oklahoma Pain Treatment Centers office. To help you decide if you might be experiences some symptoms of TMJ, here’s a common checklist of problems associated with this disorder:

• Facial pain when opening the mouth

• Jaw makes a popping noise when mouth is stretched open

• Pain while chewing food

• Joint locks, making it difficult to open or close the mouth

• An aching pain in or around the ear

• Feeling as if jaw hinges incorrectly at times

• Pain in the upper neck

If any of the above symptoms sound like what you’re experiencing, then there is a chance you have a TMJ disorder. If your TMJ is caused by arthritis (as we mentioned earlier), then you may benefit from a steroid injection into the jaw joint, which can be administered by one of our Oklahoma Pain Treatment Centers therapists.

Joint injections are often able to aid in reducing pain and swelling in a joint or the surrounding soft tissue. In fact, most patients report to our pain management OKC specialists that they feel less pain within the first 24 hours to one week. You may find that your pain improves for a period of a few weeks to several months, and in some cases, the injection resolves the pain completely.

We love being able to offer pain management solutions without the use of prescription drugs or invasive surgery. If you would like to visit with any of our Oklahoma Pain Treatment Centers therapists, you can make an appointment by calling at 405-751-0011.