The
human species has experienced stress for thousands of years, however; today
more than any other time, problems whether down the street or across the world
are in our faces all the time, due to news outlets Internet social media etc.,
there is no escaping increasing problems in this troubled world. Of Course in
the past we've always had troubles but they are more evident to all of us now
than at any time in our history.
How does stress cause physical
problems? We all know that stress can cause anxiety, depression and many other
maladies. Some people are aware that stress can cause headaches though it's
just a stress headache. But how can stress cause a headache? Over 30 years ago
I became aware of the connection between clenching and grinding of teeth and
headaches. I began to get migraine headaches, sometimes they would last for two
or three days. My teeth did not bother me I had no jaw soreness; I simply had
shoulder neck pain and frequent headaches. It was so bad that I went to the
hospital and had an MRI taken. They could find no reason for my headaches.
Finally at one point I had some joint
pain on my left side. I made a professional device or splint that covers all my
lower teeth, and to my surprise not only did my jaw pain subside but my
headaches went away. As a dentist I took many courses on the subject but
there's nothing like feeling the pain yourself to realize how real it is. This
caused me to take many more courses on the subject. Over the years it has been a
great challenge to treat my many patients who also suffer from this problem. As
I searched for the ideal device to treat this problem, I became aware of a
product called the NTI. This device is much smaller than any other device to
treat the problem covering only a few front teeth. It has a central bar which
elevates above the device -contacting the opposite front teeth at the mid-line.
Studies show this contact can actually reduce muscle activity by at least 60%,
treating the problem at its source the muscles. Studies also show that in a
group study this device was able to treat 80% or more of migraine sufferers
with success. However; this device can only be made by the dentist and costs
hundreds of dollars.
Several years ago I began working on a device which could be made by the
patient at home. The device uses the mechanism of action of the NTI that
actually improves by creating pressure on the upper and lower mid-lines at the
same time. After much work with patents, FDA approvals and design changes the
device is finally ready for the retail market. Sold online for over three years
and now at most of the major retail.com outlets, it is having fantastic
success. Not only is this the most effective and durable device I have ever
seen, it is also very affordable.
But now back to the beginning, how can
stress cause physical pain and problems. Back in biblical times when troubles
were noted it was described as wailing and gnashing of teeth. What does this
mean? I believe they were clenching and grinding their teeth. OK fine, but how
does this cause other problems? There's another problem which I experienced and
I describe it as a musculoskeletal balancing reflex. Once after injuring my
back, I found that within a few hours the pain and muscle spasms had traveled
to my abdomen. The same thing happens when the jaw muscles contract through
clenching or grinding, muscles in the shoulder and neck contract in a balancing
mechanism. When this muscle spasm is strong enough, it can actually travel up
to the base of the skull and you can get headaches. Over the years I've treated
thousands of patients who suffer from headaches, shoulder, neck pain and other
pains related to clenching and grinding. By far the most effective and wearable
device I've ever used for my patients and myself is GrindReliefN.
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