Jaw Clicking and Popping?

Does the thought of biting into a bagel or a piece of steak make your jaw ache? The first step in proper digestion of food is the chewing process, but for too many people the act of chewing is uncomfortable and eliminates the enjoyment of the eating process.  They experience pain and popping when chewing their food. They avoid enjoying certain foods or maybe even avoid eating around other people due to the fear of their jaw noise embarrassing them.

 Does this sound like you?   If so these can be signs of serious Tempomandibular Disorder (TMD) in the Tempomandibular joint (TMJ).

Over the years I have helped many patients with TMD reduce and even eliminate the pain and aggravation.  I recently worked with a patient who would wake up in the morning with her jaw completely locked until she could work some motion into it, despite sleeping with a mouth guard every night.  After removing the tension in the muscles of the jaw, and using gentle adjustments to correct the motion of the jaw when closing, she no longer is waking with pain and is able to eat what she wants with out the annoying click in the jaw.

My approach to restoring proper joint function to the TMJ is simple and effective.  I first do a thorough evaluation of the TMJ and the upper joints of the neck. This evaluation includes determining how the joints are moving and examining all of the attached muscles to determine if any are too tight or weakened.  Often times, this will even include listening to the TMJ with a stethoscope to determine the exact location of any clicking.

If it is determined that the problem is in the joints and muscles, and can be helped by chiropractic care, I start off very gently.  The first stage of care would be to balance out the muscle tension, by relaxing the tight muscles.  In mild cases, this will be enough to correct the motion and allow the jaw to heal.


The second stage, if needed, is to correct the motion of the TMJ to allow free movement and reduce the wear and tear on the joint itself. This correction is done through gentle adjustments that retrain the TMJ to move correctly again.

The third stage of care for TMD is the use of cold laser therapy to reduce inflammation and stimulate the healing process in the tissue surrounding the TMJ.

 If you are experiencing pain, popping or locking of your jaw, contact me for an evaluation and recommendations on how to start enjoying your favorite foods again.  Simple non-invasive treatment for TMD is available, let us help.

What Our Patients Say: "With TMJ, I was experiencing lots of jaw pain, neck pain, and headaches. I have been to other chiropractors to get help with this, but I recently moved to the area and had to find a new chiropractor. I have been suffering from this for a few years. At times it was painful to chew my food. I experienced daily headaches. Dr. Mairs has definitely helped with the pain I was experiencing. I no longer have to deal with daily headaches and pain."
                                                                                                   ~Ashley S.

The Inflammatory Side of Fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia is very complex in presentation and in causes, but one study demonstrates that there is a link between fibromyalgia and the inflammatory process.

Lucas et al. found that hormones and other biological markers associated with inflammation were found to be present where they normally were not, or higher than normal in the cerebro-spinal fluid, blood and skin of fibromyalgia sufferers.  They do not say that fibromyalgia is an inflammatory disorder, but that inflammation plays a critical role in its onset and progression.

So what does that mean to patients with fibromyalgia?  It means that keeping your body's pro- and anti-inflammatory processes balanced, may help limit flare-ups and prevent some of the fibromyalgia related inflammatory disorders, such as migraines, cystitis and irritable bowel syndrome.   

A huge part of this is proper nutrition, supplementation and exercise.  If you suffer with fibromyalgia and have not found someone to help guide you through this process, find a functional medicine provider that can find out what your specific needs are and start the journey to restoring your health.

The Most Dangerous Food Additive?

Do you use “sugar-free” products thinking that they will help you lose weight or in an effort to eat healthier?  If so, you may be surprised to find out that you are using one of the most dangerous food additives ever invented. 

Aspartame is a chemical that is 180 times more sweet than sugar, unfortunately it is when Aspartame starts to be digested in your body that the problem starts.  First, one of the chemicals that it is made of, Aspartic acid, is broken into two amino acids, aspartate and glutamate.  Aspartate and glutamate act as neurotransmitters in our brain, assisting in the transmission of information from one neuron to the next.  Unfortunately when we have too high a concentration of these amino acids they cause excessive calcium to go into the neurons.  This excessive calcium leads the neuron to die.  So aspartame literally kills brain cells.

Of adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA, Aspartame accounts for 75%.  Some of the symptoms associated with aspartame reactions: headache, nausea, depression, fatigue, insomnia, anxiety attacks, joint pain, heart palpitation, vision problems and ironically enough WEIGHT GAIN.  Many of these symptoms are a direct result of the damage done to the brain cells. 

Another component of Aspartame, phenylalanine, can build up in the brain and cause a decrease in serotonin levels.  Decreased serotonin is associated with emotional disorders like depression.   This can be especially dangerous for infants and unborn children due to the rapid development of their brains.  Some studies have even suggested that an increase in phenylalanine can cause schizophrenia and increase the likelihood of seizures.

The third of the dangerous components in Aspartame is methanol, or wood alcohol.  Methanol is broken down into formaldehyde and formic acid.  Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin and carcinogen, responsible for damage to the retina of the eye and birth defects.  The toxic effects of methanol are greatly increased when it is heated above 86 degrees, this happens with improper storage or in the cooking process, think sugar-free gelatin. 

The EPA recommends limiting consumption of methanol to 7.8 mg/day.  One liter of an aspartame-sweetened beverage contains approximately 56mg of methanol.  Methanol poisoning can lead to headaches, weakness, memory loss, pain into the arms and legs and vision loss.  Many of these symptoms are similar to the symptoms that come from the damage done in multiple sclerosis.