TMJ 'dysfunction' - Health implications

The following is an edited version of my original posting on ThisisMS and updated with progress.

My MS diagnosis came more than 5 years ago prompted by numbness and tingling in my right leg which eventually lead on to weakening of my leg and arm on my right side. I hate the idea of long term medication and given the ineffectiveness of conventional MS treatments sought to explore the alternatives.

I have been particularly drawn to the postings regarding CCSVI as I underwent the procedure in September last year with very disappointing results (no noticeable improvement after a very brief lift lasting only a couple of days) and since then I had been looking out for other avenues towards halting my steady decline and possibly improving my symptoms.

By a stroke of good fortune my Internet searches came upon a very interesting article from the London Evening Standard published in 2009 describing the work being carried out by Dr Amir in Putney, London who has had great success treating MS patients through correction of their jaw and Atlas vertebra alignment. The article gave an email contact for Dr Amir so I thought what have I to lose? So sent a brief email outlining my symptoms and to my surprise he answered (around midnight the same night!). This lead on to more communication including an extensive questionnaire which went right back to the start of my medical history, something I felt very reassured by as no one else I have dealt with regarding my condition has been so thorough.

On my first visit Dr Amir quickly established that my jaw and Atlas are misaligned. He was able to give a demonstration of how my symptoms could be improved by deliberately misaligning my bottom jaw to a position he identified then holding my bite in this position whilst carrying out simple tasks - the improvements were instantaneous!

I had in my mind that because the correction takes months to complete that I wouldn't necessarily feel any significant change in my symptoms for a while but how wrong I was - as my travel to the London clinic requires all modes of transport and a lot of walking I used to really struggle on the way down but on leaving the clinic my balance and right side would feel noticeably better.

I have continued to visit him regularly over the past 7 months with a steady improvement in my symptoms although as he explained at the start the road is a winding path and there have been times when I have not been at my best feeling very low and questioning if the treatment was working or indeed worth continuing. However during these lows a visit and change to my appliance or brace would usually result in me finding my way again and progress has followed.

Before my symptoms started to take hold and all my energy went I used to enjoy an active outdoor life. I can now say 7 months in to treatment I have enough energy back to have started cycling and light hill walking again although nothing like the level I used to but the fact that I feel I want to is a huge improvement. I still find my right side weakening quickly but hopefully with time that will improve and I can continue to get stronger.


For me I feel that I have been given hope and a very clear path to follow towards halting and reversing my MS symptoms. The hypothesis Dr Amir gives (already well documented) makes complete sense and ties in with a lot of my own experiences of what aggravates my condition. I also feel very fortunate to have received the help of Dr Amir and avoided the hopeless trap so many others with an MS diagnosis fall into.

These are the graphs of my progress:

From the mother of an 'MS' patient who is just starting on this therapy, thanks for an encouraging post.
Michele

Nice post Dave, it mirrors many of the stories I've heard from fellow patients.

See you in the waiting room one day!

Great to hear your story so far! I am in month 10 of treatment with Dr. Amir and haven't felt this good in a long time. It is definitely a long and winding path. I have sobbed and sobbed and doubted what I was doing but if anything goes wrong a visit to the surgery puts everything right almost immediately - mentally and physically. Above anything else I completely trust Dr. Amir and feel blessed that I found him.

Bit of an update:
My symptoms have been pretty stable of late with my fixed braces although I was beginning to feel like I needed a wee nudge back on track before my last appointment in Putney on Tuesday. A change of the wire on my top teeth and some fancy wire-work to correct a bottom tooth have had the desired effect. Even while I was sitting chatting in the surgery after the adjustments I could feel that I had more energy. Walking is pretty good for short distances now but deteriorates rapidly if I continue for any distance still when I think back to where I was 8months ago the improvements have been tremendous.
My teeth are getting close to their correct position now according to Dr Amir and further improvements in my overall condition will have to come from following the exercises he recommends which I must admit I have been poor at carrying out regularly so it's up to me now!