Background: Unexplained, non-structural muscle weakness often presents a significant diagnostic and therapeutic challenge, frequently leaving patients undiagnosed or with long-term functional impairment. While central or neurological origins are often investigated, the role of altered peripheral proprioceptive input is often overlooked.
Case Presentation: We present three cases of patients suffering from severe chronic pain and functional muscle weakness. In all cases, the muscle weakness could be instantly and reversibly resolved by applying gentle pressure to the biting surface of specific dental crowns. Following the removal of the implicated crown(s), all patients achieved a full and lasting recovery from both the weakness and their concomitant chronic pain.
Discussion: This report proposes a mechanism where aberrant proprioceptive input from metallic dental crowns alters resting muscle tone via the trigeminal and wider nervous system pathways. This clinical observation supports research demonstrating that sensory input from teeth can rapidly modulate muscle excitation and inhibition. These cases suggest that dental restoration materials may be a previously unrecognised cause of functional muscle weakness and chronic musculoskeletal pain.
Author keywords: Chiropractic; AK; Applied Kinesiology; proprioceptive medicine; afferentology; dental crowns.
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