A lot of people suffer from chronic headaches. You may be one of those. People have suffered with headaches forever. All manner of treatments have come and gone, usually without much long term relief. Neurologists have their methods of treatment. Psychiatrists have theirs. Chiropractors have theirs as well. Yes, dentists have their methods too. The drug companies certainly have their medications to give relief for headaches. The problem remains, none of these addresses the actual reason people get headaches.
It's all about muscles!
The main culprit in head pain is the muscles in the head, neck and jaw. The job of all muscles is to move one bone closer to another bone. A muscle is attached at one end to a stationary bone and at the other end to a movable bone. The muscle contracts, getting shorter, and the intended bone moves. When that activity is complete the muscle relaxes.
But what if a muscle was kept contracted for extended periods of time? What if it wasn't allowed to relax and the waste products carried away? So let's meet a muscle. It is called the temporalis. There are two, one on each side of the head. They attach to the side of the head in the temple region (the fixed bone) and to the lower jaw (the movable bone). The temporalis muscles have only one function-to close the lower teeth against the upper teeth. It is the most powerful muscle in the whole body. It is so strong it can crack hard nuts and crush bone.
What might happen if the strongest muscle was kept in a prolonged state of contraction so the oxygen supply was restricted and the waste products couldn't be carried away fast enough? Pain! Could that pain feel like a headache? Bingo!
Together or Separate-That is the Question
There is only one time that the teeth are supposed to be in contact-during chewing. That's it. Otherwise the teeth are slightly apart. This is the only time the temporalis is relaxed.
There is one more time that the teeth can be in contact: while we are sleeping. This is not exactly desirable, but everybody does it and for most people it causes no actual problem. We call this contact clenching. Some people, however, contract the temporalis muscles very hard while they sleep. Done night after night these muscles become fatigued and painful. Chronic nighttime clenchers squeeze their teeth together with tremendous force.
These people often wake up with headaches that can last a short while or can last all day. Or the headaches can show up later in the day. They can be fairly mild or they can be incredibly intense. They can be occasional ("I must have slept wrong") or they can occur every day. Maybe that pain is even strong enough to make a person supersensitive to light and be nauseous. Hello migraine!
Meet The Strongest Muscle in the Body
The temporalis muscles close the jaws with great force so our molars can grind up our food. Very strong muscles indeed! Now in contrast, the front teeth are designed for biting off stuff so our back teeth can chew it up. The lower front teeth serve another important function as well-protection. They sense pressure and if the pressure is too great-that unexpected piece of metal for example-they signal the jaw to open. So the molars squeeze together no matter what is between them. And the front teeth signal "open" if they bite on something that is too hard.
The Mystery is Solved
What if we could sleep with something between our front teeth that would keep our back teeth from clenching, and that something would actually signal the jaw to open when it hit against the lower front teeth, the temporalis muscles could relax? Just maybe a major source of headaches would disappear!
A special headache splint takes advantage of the protective reflex of the lower front teeth. We'll still try to clench, but the severity is greatly reduced. The splint fits over a few of the upper front teeth and touches against only the two lower teeth. It is worn during sleep.
Chronic Clenching Syndrome is a group of symptoms that characterize what clenchers experience. Most of the time the headache is focused in the temple region but can extend to the forehead. The headache can come from the back of the neck. Often CCS people's teeth are sensitive to cold and sometimes they have toothaches that seem to have no reason. Their necks can be stiff and sore. Their ears sometimes itch, ring, or feel plugged. Their jaw joints can be sore and tire easily after chewing food. Some CCS sufferers have sinus headaches, although nothing wrong can be found with the sinuses.
A stiff neck can occur because the neck muscles will tense in response to the temporalis muscles tightening. Ringing or itching in the ears can happen because over activity of the jaws can irritate the area around the ear. (Place your little finger in your ear and move your jaw around. Feel all the activity?)
Time to meet another muscle-the lateral pterygoid. It is the muscle that pulls the lower jaw left and right. That's what chewing is-the jaw moving up and down and left and right. The lateral pterygoid attaches to the top of the jaw and the other end attaches to the outer wall of the sinus. There is of course a left one and a right one. When these muscles become fatigued they become painful and the pain is felt where the muscle is attached along the nasal and sinus cavity wall. This can even cause the sinus to produce a discharge resulting in a runny or stuffy nose.
The lateral pterygoid becomes fatigued is to be unable to freely move the jaw from side to side. This lack of movement is caused by the temporalis firmly pulling the jaws together while the pterygoids are trying to move the jaw sideways, a condition called grinding. The headache splint, by suppressing temporalis activity, allows the lateral pterygoids to freely move, thereby relieving sinus symptoms and jaw joint strain.
So there is help. Dentists can make an appliance that can have truly dramatic results. This appliance is approved by the FDA for both "regular" headache relief and importantly, for migraine headache relief.
Approximately 95% of people find at least a partial, if not total, reduction in their symptoms. Frankly, for something that is so easy to use, the results are quite amazing. Many have found profound relief after suffering a lifetime of headaches.
Literally billions of dollars are spent for headache relief each year with little benefit. But it turns out relief is just a dental visit away.
And you thought there was nothing you could do!
Headaches In Back Of HeadDon Henderson is eager to apply his experience and knowledge to all the wonderful people he connects with on the social media sites, his blog and through articles. He is truly exited by the abundance of knowledge and information that is available on the internet and is in absolute awe of the unending possibilities. Please take a look at his blog at [http://donhendersononthego.com]