What is the TMJ?

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the hinge joint at the jaw that you use to eat and chew. In mild TMJ syndrome, patients notice intermittent pain in the joint in front of the ear or in the muscles around the joint when talking or chewing. The joint has four key components with two that are often missed even by expert TMJ physicians, surgeons, and dentists.

First, like any joint, the TMJ has cartilage inside that serves as a protective cushion where the bones that make up the joint meet. In addition, like the knee, there is a natural spacer in the joint known as the “disc” (articular disc of the TMJ joint). This is a meniscus-like structure that moves in predictable ways as you open and close you jaw and that provides further protection for the joint due to the immense loads that can be generated with chewing. Like any other joint in the body, the cartilage or spacer can be injured or become damaged due to wear and tear leading to painful arthritis.

The next key component of the joint is the muscles that help to move it. There are many different ones including the masseter, the large temporalis that comes from the side of the head, the pterygoids, and strap muscles. The muscles work together in a symphony of millisecond-timed precision to open and close the jaw. These are powerful muscles that can develop trigger points like any other muscle—areas that are shut down and painful. These muscles also have tendons that attach to bone, so these areas can develop tendinopathy—or small tears and degeneration which can cause them to become painful.

The final two key components are often overlooked by TMJ experts, and are  key to treat RMJ effectively .These are the ligaments that stabilize the joint and how the TMJ fits into its regional ecosystem in the body—the head and neck.

Ligaments stabilize joint by acting like pieces of duct tape that guide it and prevent motions for which it wasn’t designed. The TMJ has many ligaments that often get ignored by medical providers. These are the sphenomandibular, stylomandibular, and capsular ligaments. In addition, the tough covering of the joint (capsule) is further divided into collateral (lateral) ligaments, similar to the knee.

Finally, most TMJ providers focus on the bright shiny object of the TMJ itself, forgetting that it’s a joint that lives in the ecosystem of the head and neck and that it can’t work efficiently without it’s neighbouring structures working well. So neck problems will place more pressure on the TMJ joint. In addition, if the neck is unstable because its ligaments have been injured or the small muscles that stabilize it are off-line, then the body attempts to use the TMJ muscles as accessory stabilizers of the neck. Given that the joint and its muscles aren’t designed to handle these extra loads, it eventually breaks down, and the muscles get overwhelmed.

 

Regenerative Treatment for TMJ?

Regenerative Therapy is an alternative treatment option that continues to be proven successful, not only by scientist and researchers, but also by doctors who utilize this treatment for a variety of conditions, including TMJ, knee pain, osteoarthritis and arthritis pain relief.

Patients suffering from pain can be at risk of depending too heavily on regular medications to relieve their pain. However, any temporary relief does not come from tackling the cause of pain. Pain medications also have undesired side effects, and some of those can be serious. Regenerative Therapy on the other hand and by means of several protocols will ultimately help initiate the self-healing cycle in the injured part of the body, the end result then is pain relief.
Regenerative Therapy utilize biologic material harvested directly from the patient’s body to help heal disease and injury. The treatment has become a game changer for accelerating healing, regenerating tissue and combating pain. It has reduced the need for prescription medications and knee surgery, proving to be a helpful tool towards managing and potentially eliminating pain in the body. Regenerative Therapy has helped untold amounts of people overcome insufferable chronic knee pain, restoring their function and mobility, and improving their quality of life.

 

Non-surgical Regenerative treatments are a same-day procedures and the options are:

• Prolotherapy
• Platelet-rich plasma – PRP therapy
• Mesenchymal cell therapy
• SVF (Stromal vascular fraction) therapy

Click to read more about each Regenerative Treatment option

In certain cases it may be a combination of more than one treatment protocol. For some patients however, the complete protocol is a series of injections in several treatment sessions. The choice of treatment is at the discretion of the Consultant and is based on your unique case.

What are the top Benefits of Non-surgical Regenerative Treatments?

With so many options out there, you may be wondering what benefits choosing Non-surgical Regenerative Treatments provides.  Over all Regenerative treatments are minimally invasive, non-surgical same day procedures with no risk of rejection, minimal recovery time and minimal worry. You are fully awake and ready to go home within a few hours after injections in the affected area.

 

Here are the top benefits to be aware of:

Read more..

Avoid surgery and its risks and many complications

Regenerative Therapy is a minimally invasive, non-surgical procedure, which gives patients an alternative to painful surgery and lengthy recovery. The procedure is performed in an outpatient setting and only takes a few hours. No general anaesthesia is required and most patients don’t need post-operative pain medication. Also, patients typically return to work within a week or two (unless told otherwise by the doctor) and they resume physical activity much faster than after invasive hip surgery.

 

Minimal post-procedural recovery time

One of the most time consuming factors of any injury is not always the treatment itself, but actually the recovery time. With Regenerative therapies, there is far less risk involved than surgery and recovery time is much shorter compared to surgery.

 

No use of general anaesthesia

Do you not like the way general anaesthesia makes your feel? Or do you simply get anxious at the thought of being put under? Regenerative therapy may be just what you need as it does not require the use of general anaesthesia. It provides a safe increasingly effective non-surgical alternative to treating medical conditions using the body’s own natural ability to repair itself without the use of medication.

 

Same day procedure

The best part, after comprehensive examination and review of your case, blood tests & radio-imaging scans are done to establish a baseline for your pre-existing condition, is that our Regenerative Therapies are a non-invasive treatment and an outpatient same day procedure, where the Consultant will decide which line of Regenerative Therapy is most suited to your case. In certain cases it may be a combination of more than one treatment protocol. For some patients however, the complete protocol is a series of injections in several treatment sessions.

 

Safe procedures with No risk of rejection and No communicable disease transmission

Your immune system has no reason to attack your cells and there is no risk of contracting a transmittable infectious disease from a donor patient also. In fact, studies thus far have indicated no safety issues with fat-derived autologous (from self) cells. Because they are your own cells, the risk of rejection is eliminated.

The increased risk of heart attack, as found to be associated with hip replacement surgery, is not present with Regenerative therapies, either. Like any procedure, there is a minute risk of infection at the sample collection and at the hip injection site. To minimize that risk the procedure is carried out under strict sterile conditions.

Am I a candidate for the Medica Institute therapies?

In general, Regenerative Medica Institute Therapies can be utilised by anyone, regardless of the age, race, or gender. However, in order to determine if you are a good candidate and will benefit the most from Regenerative treatment, you will need to schedule an appointment with our Clinic to have an assessment done by our Consultant, who will review your medical records and determine if you are a qualified candidate for our therapy. The choice of treatment is then at the discretion of the Consultant and is based on your unique case.

 

Do Regenerative treatments or therapies work?

There are a number of studies that have been published in the Regenerative medicine demonstrating positive results from Regenerative treatments like Stem Cell therapy, PRP etc.
Regenerative therapies have now been utilised in clinical practice to treat degenerative knees, hips and shoulders for more than five years and are demonstrating excellent results. Patients are seeing marked reduction in pain as well as improvement in cartilage quality. A variety of well-founded clinical trials have been conducted on stem cell therapy for management and treatment of chronic pain. The trials concerning Regenerative therapies are widely published online (ex. on PubMed) and readily available for all to access. The use of Regenerative treatments is  proving day by day to be both a safe and effective means of treating many conditions. These treatments allow the body to heal and regenerate in ways that were thought impossible before. Regenerative technology provides a natural alternative to the use of medication and surgeries, which may be more harmful and invasive.
Regenerative therapy procedures are quickly becoming a first line treatment for chronic pain, degenerative joint disease, like arthritis or osteoarthritis, providing a minimally invasive option to avoid invasive surgical repair, and other various conditions. There are many Medica Stem Cell patient testimonials on our website who have experienced significant improvements on their condition for You to view.

 

When do I See Results?

What can I expect after Regenerative Therapy for Knee Pain?

Regenerative therapy only takes a few hours to complete and is performed in an outpatient setting, no general anaesthesia is required and most patients don’t need post-operative pain medication. Patients will be able to go home almost immediately after the injection is done. Since this therapy is an orthobiological treatment that requires time for the cells to restore the damaged areas in the foot, patients will not feel the effect of the injection immediately. Most patients will experience improved pain and mobility over time. This is due to the strong anti-inflammatory effect of the growth factors associated with adult mesenchymal cells.

The first day after the treatment, you might experience mild discomfort at injection site which should not be restrictive, mild pain in the treatment area may persist anything from a day to a week. This can be alleviated by rest and if needed simple pain killers may be prescribed.
Some injuries or conditions may or may not require repeat treatment. Typically it is best to wait 3-6 months before considering it. Most of the time repeat treatment is done because some improvement has been seen and more is sought.
Reviews of your progress may extend up to 6 months following the procedure. Reviews can be by means of a clinic visits or alternatively for your ease by video / phone call.
You will be asked during the period of follow up to keep an accurate record of your progress to compare to your starting point.
The final outcome of the treatment and extent of improvement varies from one patient to another depending on type and severity of the condition, age, etc…

 

Regenerative Therapy may help patients who don’t respond to typical drug treatment, want to reduce their reliance on medication, or are looking for safe treatment alternatives. Regenerative treatments are not suitable for all conditions and all patients. The consultant will be able to advise if you are a suitable candidate.

Your first step to exploring your treatment options is scheduling a consultation with our Consultant. To do so call us on 020 8168 2000 or alternatively book a consultation online or request a call back today!