A Personal Note From the Editor Real Help…Real Hope…

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Employees at Advanced Pain Care can suffer from chronic pain, just as any of our patients. I am a former elementary school counselor and  now Editor of The Standard  for Advanced Pain Care. I suffered for ten years with what had been diagnosed by my dentist as TMJ (temporalmandibular joint dysfunction).
 
The dentist told me that wearing a splint, avoiding eating raw vegetables, avoiding stretching my jaw very wide, and applying moist heat were all that could be done for my TMJ. I had been going weekly (oftent twice a week for over three years) to a chiropractor and would get minimal relief (lasting for a day or two). I felt like I was twice my age and felt very hopeless.
 
 Upon hearing my husband, Dan Taylor, President of Advanced Pain Care talk about how A.L. Shaw, M.D., Medical Director of Advanced Pain Care had helped some individuals with the discomfort of TMJ,  I  decided to make an appointment and have an evaluation.

Dr. Shaw discovered that I had been misdiagnosed and was actually suffering from Myofascial Pain Syndrome. I was given acupuncture treatments(5 or 6), an exercise program, and told to “turn in my splint” that I had worn for ten years for TMJ.

I was told I had to eat all the foods I had been told by my dentist to avoid like crunchy apples, carrots, broccoli, steak etc., and to stretch my jaws (which I could only get one finger between at the initial evaluation) to help them become more flexible. I now can put most of my fist in my mouth!

This took place a little over two years ago.

There is no cure for Myofascial Pain Syndrome, but the treatment plan designed for  me has given me a new life!  I enjoy my work at Advanced Pain Care and take every opportunity I can to spread the word about the HOPE and  HELP that is available for others.

Written by Donna Taylor,M.Ed.
Fellow American Academy of Pain Management
Editor of The Standard

       

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