This last fact is often overlooked. A commonly forgotten area in regards to headache and neck pain is the temporomandibular joint. The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the physical connection where the jaw meets the skull. The TMJ is needed to keep the jaw in proper alignment, especially when talking and eating. A painful and clicking TMJ is called Temporomandibular Joint Syndrome (TMJS). TMJS symptoms are very similar to those of Barre-Lieou Syndrome. The symptoms, such as dizziness and vertigo, that physicians ascribe to the TMJS, may actually be due to Barre-Lieou Syndrome. An athlete who undergoes momentary loss of consciousness after a fall or a hit will sometimes have unusual symptoms after the hit, such as dizziness, weakness, and residual neck pain. The team surgeon (orthopedist) will ascribe this to post-concussion syndrome and tell the athlete that nothing can be done. Well, something like examining the athlete's neck could be done! Often trigger or tender points will be elicited. If they are found, then the athlete most likely has Barre-Lieou Syndrome and Prolotherapy will usually resolve the problem.

The relationship between head posture and TMJ position is well known. Proper alignment of the head can easily show this, as the neck will be comfortable if the lower jaw is back. If the lower jaw is forced forward while the head and neck are in proper alignment, tension is felt in the back of the neck.

It is great that Prolotherapy can help resolve chronic migraine and cluster headaches, but perhaps more important to an athlete is recovering as quickly as possible from an acute injury.

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