Question
QUESTION: I have had problems with TMJ to the point where it has been causing disturbances that feel like panic attacks.  I have been trying to stretch my neck and this helps but it also feels like the pain is being aggravated at times, it has even led to pains in my bowels lately.

I have an appointment with a chiropractor on Wednesday.  Could you give me some more information about TMJ? It is hard to google honest information about health these days.  I know it is a fairly "new" syndrome, and it was not until recently that I discovered that I had these symptoms and what they meant.  Do the neck muscles and jaw muscles lock up with other muscles in the body? (for example the shoulders?)

sincerely
ryan

ANSWER: Dear Ryan,

Thank you for your question.  Though the subject of your question is not specifically a matter from my field, you still may benefit from the information I can provide.  In order to answer you properly, I抣l first need to give you some background on anatomy and physiology and how they relate to the chiropractic profession.  I抣l then offer my thoughts on how this may relate to the situation you describe.  

There are two branches or schools of thought in chiropractic.  Briefly, they are differentiated by whether they deal with the limited therapeutic approach for aches and pains (commonly termed "mixed" chiropractic because it represents a mixture of a chiropractor with a non-chiropractic matter) or a non-therapeutic approach to optimum body performance (termed "straight" chiropractic because there is no mixing of chiropractic with anything else).  My expertise is in non-therapeutic straight chiropractic.

Therapeutic "mixed" chiropractic is the older approach based on a split from the founding principles of chiropractic about a century ago.

Non-therapeutic "straight" chiropractic is the more modern of the two.  It deals with a particular, common situation called a vertebral subluxation.  The spine is made of many bone segments which house and protect the spinal cord and the smaller spinal nerve branches that come off the spinal cord and exit between the bones.  These nerve pathways carry information or messages between the brain and the cells of the body.  These messages are essential for the life of the cells.  Without brain messages, the cells immediately begin the process of dying; i.e., they can no longer function the way they should to maintain life.

Because the bones are moveable, they can misalign in such a way as to interfere with the messages and, ultimately, the ability of the person to function at their best or express their optimum potential, whatever that may be.  People with vertebral subluxations are not able to get all they can out of life.

Vertebral subluxations can be caused by a wide variety of factors, what we'll generally call stresses.  These stresses can be physical (such as sleeping posture and mattress condition, the birth process, sneezing, falling down, etc.), mental / emotional (in its many forms, probably the most familiar use of the word stress), or chemical (such as pollution, drugs, perhaps even alcohol, etc.), which are, unfortunately, uncontrollable and regular parts of daily living for all age groups.  In short, a vertebral subluxation can occur for a multitude of reasons.

Tragically, vertebral subluxations are rarely obvious to the individual they affect.  They usually have no symptoms.  The reason is that most of what goes on inside you happens without your awareness.  As an example, try to "feel" your liver.  What's it doing right now?  You can't know, so you can't know if it's functioning at its best or something less.  To complicate things, nerve pathways that carry messages of control (termed "motor" nerves) have no way of transmitting ache or pain messages, so your body function may be far from perfect and you'd not have any alerting signal whatsoever.  The branching of the nerve pathways is complex and extensive, making it exceedingly difficult to predict or determine exactly how the person will be affected.  For this reason alone, it is impossible for anyone to give you reliable answers as to a connection between the spine and specific symptoms of any kind, including TMJ, panic attacks, neck or bowel symptoms, etc.  Certainly, every part of the body must have connections to the nerve system so that vital information may be transmitted between the brain and the cells.  There are some who would attempt to review the possible nerve connections between a nerve root and specific organs or tissues, but this ignores the multitude of variables that determine the expression of function.  The question of how your individual body carries out the myriad of activities just to maintain life is enormous and would require your Creator抯 (or creator抯, for the agnostic) knowledge, or at least far more than our educated knowledge of the complexities of life.

Now that you have more information about the body and vertebral subluxation, how do you make use of it?  Well, first understand that this is not an explanation of why you have TMJ or panic attacks or the other symptoms / complaints you described or whether they are related to vertebral subluxation.  Are there reasons for what you抮e experiencing?  Even though they may be beyond our ability to identify, yes, there are; but pinning them down is not relevant to the matter of whether you will benefit from being free of vertebral subluxations.  Vertebral subluxation is, in and of itself, detrimental to your life.  It is not valid or reliable to try to connect it to any of the things you mentioned, or any other organ or tissue conditions.  In order to know if someone has a vertebral subluxation, it is necessary to have that person抯 spine checked by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor using a method of "analysis."  When a vertebral subluxation is detected this way, it is obviously important to correct it as soon as possible.  The term for this procedure is 揳djustment.?br>
Since vertebral subluxations are caused by so many different things, people choose to go to a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor on a regular basis to enjoy the most time free of the life-robbing effects of vertebral subluxation. There's a saying that straight chiropractic is not about your back, it's not about pain, it's about your life.  Each person has a unique potential in life.  With vertebral subluxation, it's impossible to realize that potential.

A key question to ask for your purposes, then, would be, Is someone with the symptoms you list better off with vertebral subluxation / nerve interference or free of subluxation / with the nerve channels open?  It is easy to see that having all the available nerve messages getting through is better than only some of them getting through, regardless of the person's situation otherwise.  It抯 not that you should see a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor FOR your symptoms ?you should visit one in an effort to be free of vertebral subluxations, even WITH those symptoms.  Non-therapeutic straight chiropractic is not about diagnosing and/or treating TMJ or any other therapeutic-model or medical condition.  It is entirely separate in its goal.  

As I mentioned earlier, not all chiropractors adhere to this and it is important that you be able to distinguish which ones do if you're going to seek this type of service.  You need to understand very clearly that the practice objectives of therapeutic mixed chiropractic and non-therapeutic straight chiropractic are quite different, as described above.  What I can tell you must not be interpreted from the mixed viewpoint.  

It would be wise to have your spine checked for subluxations by a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor even if you still elect to have therapeutic attention for your various reported symptoms.  Remember, the two objectives are not the same.  Beyond that, consider that diagnosis is a difficult art even under the best of circumstances.  It could be argued that it is unwise for you to rely on one done via e-mail or google.  

If you are interested in finding out how to locate a non-therapeutic straight chiropractor in your area, please contact me at this site again or at [email protected].  You may also visit www.gschiro.com, a site that represents non-therapeutic straight chiropractic organizations on a state level.

Ryan, I wish you the best in understanding what non-therapeutic straight chiropractic has to offer.  It has been my pleasure to provide you with some information.

Sincerely,
James W. Healey, D.C.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well I would like to learn more about the musclce-skelton structre from a holistic prespective.  It ocurred to me that a problem with me neck or jaw could be related to another region of the body that has an imbalance.  

I have actually practiced Isha Yoga for the past three years.  How would you recommend continuing to learn more about "this", say kinesieology or somatics perhaps?
ANSWER: Ryan, I've consolidated my answer to this with the answer to your related follow-up in a single posting to that follow-up.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: John How do I access your follow-up post?

Answer
Ryan,

I have no control over the operations of the web-site and my access is different from that of a visitor, so I'm not sure as to how you would go about viewing a prior posting.  I was under the impression that you are notified when an AllExperts response has been posted and provided with a link to view it.  Have you checked your in-box for a message from the day(s) of our correspondence?  

Perhaps you can address this question to the staff of AllExperts through one of the help links on the pages.  

If you are unable to locate it in these ways, let me know.  I keep copies of my postings and would be able to search my files for you.  

Alternatively, since you address me as "John," is it possible you were interested in someone else's follow-up?  


Sincerely,
James W. Healey, DC