It is not uncommon for people with sleep-related breathing disorders (those who have “mild” snoring, upper airway resistance syndrome, or obstructive sleep apnea) to have a significant amount of head and neck pain. People with these combined problems, have a double whammy in getting good sleep. Not only are they struggling to breathe through their collapsing upper airway (usually, but not always, creating snoring sounds), they have the added burden of having pain disturb their sleep as well.

A therapy called Oral Systemic Balance, Oral Systems Biology, or more simply called OSB, uses a removable orthotic (retainer-like) device that brings quick and dramatic relief to this chronic pain. The video below contains small clips from other videos located in other pages in this website. A few minutes looking at this video will give you a very small sample of the amazing pain relief that is possible with OSB therapy. (NOTE: The beeping sounds heard in some of the clips are from a pulse/oximeter that is used to monitor oxygen levels during the adjustment of the orthotic.)

These small video clips represent only a preview of the other more complete videos of many other patients talking about their pain relief that they experienced with Oral Systemic Balance orthotics. It must be emphasized that this initial pain relief occurs quickly. The “down-stream effect” of the Oral Systemic Balance therapy occurs as the body adjusts to the relief of the conditions that caused the pain in the first place. To see these videos and hear these patients’ stories, follow the links at the bottom of the page.

To read an interesting online discussion of the results of Oral Systemic Balance therapy, go sleepguide.com, a sleep apnea support site. This discussion was started without my knowledge by a patient of mine who is now free of pain for the first time in years as a result of this therapy. It is important to note that if this patient had received a traditional sleep study, she would have been told that she “had no problem”. Untold thousands of people with the more minor forms of sleep-related breathing difficulties (many of whom do not snore at all) have too “mild” of a problem to be considered problematic, and yet they suffer horribly from the effects.

Those who can be helped with Oral Systemic Balance therapy may present with a whole constellation of symptoms. They may experience many of the symptoms or only a few. Their symptoms may be very mild or quite severe. They include:

• Head pain. This pain can originate in many places such as, behind the eyes, temple, jaw joint (TMJ), at the base of the skull, etc. They often suffer from headaches or migraines. It is very common for them to wake up with a headache.
• Clenching and grinding of teeth. They may be unaware that they clench or grind their teeth, but evidence of significant tooth wear is often seen in their mouth. Clenching and/or grinding of teeth during sleep is actually a survival mechanism since this activity stimulates the tongue and moves it out of the airway during sleep and allows breathing to occur.
• Popping and cracking in the jaw joint often leading to temperomandibular joint pain (often called TMJ).
• Neck and shoulder pain. They often can turn their head farther to one side or the other. Pain may radiate to the back of the shoulder or to the front of the chest.
• Tightness in the throat. Patients will often report that wearing clothes that put pressure on the neck, such as a turtleneck sweater, is extremely unpleasant. They may report that they often feel a lump in their throat.
• Difficulty swallowing. This difficulty swallowing may be very subtle or extreme. People with this problem may notice that they have to drink a large volume of water to swallow a pill. They may have a difficult time swallowing certain kinds of food. They may occasionally choke on their own saliva.
• Difficulty breathing. This can be extreme or merely a feeling that their breathing is shallow. They will sometimes report “I sometimes have to remind myself to breathe”. Quite often, they are not even aware that their breathing is shallow since shallow breathing is all they have ever known.
• Gastric (Acid) reflux or heartburn
• Panic attacks. These may be full blown panic attacks or merely a periodic feeling of being tense for no apparent reason. This occurs because the sympathetic branch of the nervous system must be overactive (producing adrenaline) to ensure proper swallowing and breathing.
• Irregular heart beat.
• Sleeping problems-multiple awakenings during the night. Awakening feeling unrefreshed.
• Bed partner reports of snoring and/or pauses in breathing.
• Daytime sleepiness or fatigue.
• Hand or foot pain/numbness.

If you or a loved one have any combination of these symptoms, read on!

Learn more about Oral Systemic Balance therapy. This therapy, developed by Dr. Farrand Robson of Tacoma Washington, is ground-breaking in its approach to the treatment of both head and neck pain as well as sleep-related breathing disorders.

View pre and post treatment videos of patients who have been helped with Oral Systemic Balance therapy.