Suffering from muscle pain and stiffness? Myofascial pain syndrome may be to blame

Chronic muscle pain and stiffness can be detrimental to your lifestyle and your happiness, yet many people accept chronic aches and pains as part of getting older or just part of life. If you suffer from muscle pain with no known cause, you may have myofascial pain syndrome (MPS). This condition can cause stressed or injured muscles to send pain triggers to other parts of the body.

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Myofascia, a fancy word for muscles

The prefix “myo” refers to muscles, and fascia is the tissue that covers the muscles. Myofascial pain generally means muscle pain. Myofascial pain syndrome occurs when muscles that have been injured develop trigger points for pain. These trigger points can result in what is called referred pain: Pain that is felt in other areas of the body because the trigger points send pain signals away from their original location.

Finding the source of pain

Headaches, facial and jaw pain are very common. Sometimes the muscles around the face and jaws can experience pain due to myofascial pain syndrome, but another common culprit is TMJ disorder. TMJ disorder is caused by injury or stress to the temporomandibular joints that move the jaws. Like MPS, TMJ can also send pain triggers away from the source of the problem. Figuring out the source of jaw or muscle pain can be tricky because of the possibility that referred pain is involved.

Physiologic dentistry can help

There is a branch of dentistry that deals with the way the teeth, jaws and muscles relate to each other. This is physiologic dentistry, and it can often diagnose the cause of pain and offer effective treatment methods. Jaw or muscle pain that is caused by a problem with the jaws, the TM joints or the teeth can often be relieved with dental treatment such as an orthotic. This is a dental appliance or mouthguard that keeps your jaws balanced to relieve stress and pain.

In cases where a bad bite or crooked teeth are causing jaw imbalance, permanent treatment for these conditions can help to relieve TMJ symptoms. Pain can also be treated by our Chicago physiologic dentist with nerve blocks or trigger point injections.

Get relief

You don’t have to let muscle pain and stiffness be a companion through your life. You can stop the pain by finding out its cause and getting treatment. Contact us to schedule a consultation appointment to see how physiologic dentistry may be able to help to relieve your pain.

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