I have tingling one day then not the next. There is no rhyme or reason …

The muscles and the nerves in the jaw and face are extremely complex and intricately connected. Because of this, if your bite is unaligned, the nerves and muscles are also affected. This misalignment can result in the muscles throughout your face, jaw, neck and shoulders to go into spasms. The spasms then pinch the nerves that lead down your arms.

The result of all of this? A feeling of numbness and tingling in your arms, fingers and hands.

Just under half of all individuals that battle TMJ have expressed a sensation of pricking, tingling or numbing on the skin in their hands and fingers. Additionally, many times they report it accompanies a reduction in their grip strength.

Without knowing its connection or whether it relates to TMJ, most times people have explained these symptoms away. And because muscles spasms come and go, the numbness comes and goes as does the variations in the intensity.

Numbness and tingling can occur with or without other painful symptoms. As it relates to the TMJ, numbness in the hands and fingers is one symptom that doesn’t seem to have a time or manifestation schedule. It doesn’t seem to be predictably related to a person’s discomfort.

On occasion, an individual will report that their extremities become cold, even changing color to a very pale or bluish tinge. The pinching of the nerves and the tiny muscles around the blood vessels causes this sensation. The squeezing or pinching of the nerves can alter blood flow and ultimately affect your extremities.

If you are experiencing these symptoms, you need to have them checked. Dr. Westman can determine if they are related to TMJ problems.