Panther Sports Medicine is your Calgary sports therapy clinic. A physical therapist rehabilitation company, our facilities provide a highly trained and dedicated team of healthcare workers to help you with your physical ailments – whatever they happen to be. Moreover, our mission is to provide the excellent, customized, restorative treatment you need to live a healthy and active lifestyle.
We have 10 convenient locations across Calgary, which include Country Hills, Oakridge, Cranston Market, Trico Centre, Seton, Deer Valley, Marlborough Mall, South Fish Creek, Mckenzie Towne, and Walden.
Additionally, we offer a myriad of physical treatments such as acupuncture, sports medicine, and temporomandibular joint management in Calgary. Keep reading to learn more.
TMJ Services
If you’re experiencing any pain or discomfort in your jaw when you eat, yawn, or speak, your temporomandibular joint may be the culprit. This is the joint that attaches the jaw bone to the skull. And sometimes pain can occur within this connective joint, resulting in temporomandibular (jaw) joint – or TMJ – a condition that impacts the jaw joints in addition to the encompassing muscles and tendons.
This is where Panther Sports Medicine can be of service. We offer professional healthcare providers at all 10 Calgary locations who can evaluate your condition, assess your jaw’s functionality, and prescribe personalized treatment options based on the severity of your condition.
This methodology will help to restore your jaw to normal movement and alleviate the pain associated with TMJ.
What is the Origin?
Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disorders can be caused by a myriad of factors. A few of these common variables include trauma, arthritis, an improper or awkward bite, or simply just natural wear and tear taking place over time.
Other variables can include poor posture – believe it or not. Hunched over body language such as a forward stretching neck when staring into a computer screen all day can be a major contributing factor
This is due to your neck and face muscles becoming strained from the uncomfortable and unnatural positioning.
Symptoms of TMJ
There are a plethora of common symptoms associated with TMJ. Understanding what they are can help provide a more accurate diagnosis in addition to appropriate treatment. Some of these symptoms include:
- Jaw tenderness
- Facial pain
- Earaches
- Headaches
- An exhaustive feeling in your face
- Difficulty chewing or keeping the mouth open
- Neck and/or shoulder pain
- Clicking or popping noises when opening/closing your mouth
- Jaw pain
How Does TMJ Treatment Work?
The functionality of treatment depends on which method is best for your unique case of TMJ. Here are a few treatment options to consider, as well as how they work to heal your jaw pain.
Heat or Cold Packs
One method is to apply an ice pack to the affected side of your jaw that’s suffering from severe pain. Doing this a few times daily helps to relieve the discomfort by decreasing inflammation and numbing the acute pain. This is due to the fact that ice constricts blood vessels and slows the circulation of blood to the area.
Consume Soft Foods
In order to ensure your jaw doesn’t get any worse, consume soft foods. Soup, eggs, yogurt, fish, mashed potatoes, etc, are all good options. Continuing to consume hard foods will only make the problem worse. But eating soft foods, you’re essentially “giving your jaw a break” so it has time to heal.
Medication
Proper medication dispensed by your doctor is the next best bet for alleviating the pain of TMJ. Medications such as ibuprofen, muscle relaxants, anti-anxiety drugs, etc, can all be very helpful in reducing pain, eliminating grinding, and minimizing the stress that’s associated with TMJ. Speak to your doctor for possible medicinal solutions.
What Are the Benefits?
TMJ is a condition that can and will weigh you down if you fail to act on it. For this reason, you’ll want to ask questions and figure out a treatment solution as soon as possible.
As such, you will see that the benefits are numerous and are more than worth it in the end. A few of these advantages include:
- Eliminated tooth damage risk
- No more ringing ears
- Improved hearing
- Better eating
- Enhanced diet
- Better sense of well-being and happiness
- Stronger sleeping patterns
- Alleviation of pain
- Reduced irritability
Are There Side Effects?
If you’re opting for the surgical approach as a treatment method, there are a few things to keep in mind in terms of possible side effects. Of course, the surgical procedure is typically reserved for the more serious and severe cases of TMJ.
But with that being said, a few side effects to keep in mind include possible injury to the facial nerves, damaged or impaired tissue to the surrounding areas, infections, and restrictive motion.
How Soon Can You Expect to See Results?
This will be dependent on a few variables such as the kind of treatment method you’re engaging in, the severity of your condition, your persistence in holding steady to the instructions of your therapists, and more.
However, as a general guideline, therapies such as jaw and neck stretching, massaging, and stress management exercises can provide more immediate relief. But generally speaking, it can take a few weeks to as long as a few months until you see the real results of these kinds of practices.
Conclusion
We appreciate your interest in Panther Sports Medicine, and we invite you to take the leap to good health and learn more about our company and how we can help improve your health. We have 10 convenient locations in Calgary. Find a location near you and book an appointment with us.
