TMJ 'dysfunction' - Health implications

As a teenager I was told I had overcrowding by my dentist and had 4 healthy teeth extracted and was fitted with a brace for approx 2 years at the age of 12 to 14. A few months after this I had neck pain for the 1st time and went to the doctor who told me I had pulled a muscle and was sent home. It never entered my head that the neck pain I was to get initially maybe once or twice a year since then was related to the extraction of my teeth.

Below the brief facts of the problems I have had since and the results I have had from TMJ treatment with Dr Amir.

As I got older I experienced more neck pain which then progressed to my back, the two years prior to seeing Dr Amir , I was visiting osteopaths and cranial sacral therapists monthly to ease the discomfort. I would also get numb arms so often that it was really beginning to worry me. The back pain had got so bad on a couple of occasions that I could barely move without feeling sharp pain ricocheting down my spine and it was seriously depressing, I was in too much agony to get up and go to work (just trying to get out of bed was a feat, the pain was excruciating). Initially 20 years ago I would get a stiff neck if I slept in a bad position whilst on a train /plane/ or in a car or I felt maybe I had pulled a muscle whilst exercising. However in the last couple of years this progressed to lifting my arm to do something as simple as turn off a light switch to lead to a stiff neck.

I was also diagnosed with flat feet after experiencing shooting pains in my heels. About 11 years ago I began to suffer with otitis exema in my ears and ear wax became a distant memory. I had on a couple of occasions little tubes put in my ears where the swelling was so bad the hospital inserted them in order to be able to administer the steroid drops I was given. I used to go and get my ears vacumned at the ENT. I also suffered with the worst hay fever, the stinging in my eyes was so bad I could not go anywhere without tablets to keep it under control ( my eyes would be forced shut always a worry if your driving). I also had very heavy periods and bloating.

So in summary I was a mouth breathing (it felt awkward to breath through my nose, I was often congested), flat footed, stiff necked, sore watery eyed, bad eared, painful backed, frozen shouldered, bloated walking mess. I had low level issues compared to ms sufferers but they were becoming more frequent and I felt like I was dragging myself everywhere. It was depressing. I wanted to learn more about my back pain and other conditions.

The thing that prompted me to go and see Dr Amir was a trip to a new osteopath. He was analysing the way I stood, and mentioned my cross bite in the same sentence as my body symmetry. That started me thinking as I had been considering getting a brace on my teeth, my bite was off and my upper teeth on the sides were inside my lower teeth when closed. Then later when he was working on my shoulders and neck he mentioned my jaw was out of line, (other osteopaths had mentioned this too), however as my jaw was not painful I did not see it as a problem. I digested this information for a while, and a lighbulb went off as I remembered that my neck pain had started around the time of my teenage dental work. I did a bit of research and came across Dr Amir. I figured I had nothing to lose so booked an appointment. Incidentally when I visited my usual dentist (a private practice in islington), and discussed having a brace, he just talked about the cosmetic affects and also that I may need to have my teeth shaved in order to move them into the correct position ( what the hell do they get taught in a dentistry degree ?).

When I visited Dr Amir so many things he said made sense
I had removable braces initially fitted and now have a fixed brace which is tweaked to expand my upper jaw.
So my results so far are:

Stronger nails within a month or two, debilitating back pain gone completely , flat foot heel pain stopped, numb feeling in my arms and frozen shoulder feeling stopped completely.
My monthly bloating is less and my periods feel normal.
I had better energy levels within approx 6 months, I feel less congested, and breathing through my nose more has led to better sleep. Do not misinterpret I do not want to run a marathon yet but once in a while I feel lethargic, before having my teeth fixed I always felt lethargic.
Within 8 months otitis excema and hayfever gone. My face shape has changed, I am starting to see my cheekbones emerge (my lips are bigger who needs fillers!). I get the odd twinge in my neck and the muscles occasionally feel tight but it feels like years of being wound in the wrong direction are being unwound. The feeling is not the same as the stiff necked pain that I usually got which meant not turning my head for two days at a time.
I no longer need to spend money on osteopaths, massage therapists, podiatrists, ear drops, hay fever tablets or pain killers.

These are my facts, I am glad I went to see Dr Amir, I feel better and that’s the thing really and my point ultimately for writing this. When something works you want to spread the word, and this has worked for me, I have no qualms in recommending this treatment to everyone. I initially just wanted the back pain and neck pain to ease, and everything else getting fixed has been a bonus. I now feel strongly that if our skeletal alignment is correct then we breath easier our nerves are not pinched, our muscles are not tight, our veins are not trapped and our bodies are assisted to heal.

I wish everyone on this site well, and cannot thank Dr Amir enough I always walk out of his surgery feeling better.