Dr. Katz, iHATEheadaches Blog

Holistic medicine is defined by the Canadian Holistic Medical Association, as

"A system of health care which fosters a cooperative relationship among all those involved, leading toward optimal attainment of the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual aspects of health."

There are many types of headaches and cause of headaches. There are primary causes and secondary causes, genetic causes, hormonal causes and causes due to chemical imbalance and chemical hypersensitivities. In each of these areas there are specialist who treat headaches based on their specialty. If after seeing a host of practitioners and going through many diagnostic tests and then no cause is found, the sufferer becomes apprehensive, worried, despondent and made to feel that it's all in their head.

Neuromuscular dentist understand that there are other factors that may contribute to head,neck and fascial pain. Headaches of many types are associated with the fifth cranial nerve, the Trigeminal nerve. Migraines, sinus headaches,headaches cause by Temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) or TMJ are also associated with the same nerve the fifth cranial nerve. Treating, TMJ,the jaw joints, can help relieve or prevent a lot of pain and the associated symptoms linked to the fifth nerve.

Pnupa, a college student over a period of a year, developed symptoms that included headaches,neck, shoulder and facial pain, ringing in the ears and tingling and numbness in her hands. After seeing a host of specialist and months of test, she was told no apparent cause could be found for her symptoms. She had trouble typing and she had to cut the number of classes she could attend at school because of her hand numbness. Carpal tunnel syndrome was ruled out.

She saw a pamphlet I had in my waiting room describing TMD and it's symptoms. "That's me "she said.

Together with her physician, a physical therapist and our treatment of her TMJ with appliance therapy, her symptoms have started to subside. Her hand pain has gone from a Maximum of five out of five to a two in intensity. She is thrilled that she can spend more time typing and working at school. Best of all she happy to know it was not in her head.

Not every headache is due to jaw or bite dysfunction. But being open minded to all the possiblities and working together can make make many chronically unhappy and pain stricken people, pain free and productive again.