Hi All,

I am looking for a doctor who can treat Neck and upper Back pain . Also I have a case of TMJ ( Jaw Pain ) . Are there any doctors or a website which i can search for the same. What should be the search keywords in german ?.

Any help in this regard is very much appreciated.

Many Thanks,
Manish

I'm sorry I don't know of a doctor to recommend, but I think that physiotherapists often treat those symptoms. I know that mine did (https://www.physiozentrum.ch/).

Also, perhaps you might want to consider having your teeth checked by a dentist for signs of bruxism (grinding or clenching your teeth at night while you sleep). I struggled with that for a long time and had been doing it without even knowing it until a dentist pointed it out. And the main symptoms were upper back pain, neck pain and jaw pain (including TMJ). I know bruxism is very common. It can also be rather difficult to treat, because we do it in our sleep, but what seems to help the most is managing stress and anxiety. I personally found magnesium supplements to help immensely (as well as deleting my social media accounts, which had been a huge source of stress for me).

Good luck.

What kind of insurance do you have? If you need your family doctor's referral, most probably (s)he'll be referring you to a physiotherapist first (judging by your symptoms). Many doctor's offices have an in-house physiotherapist here. If you can go directly to a specialist doctor you should be looking for "Orthopäde"/"Orthopädie".

Regarding what greenmount had written above... I guess I had forgotten to mention that my family doctor had referred me to the physiotherapist (because of the pain), and so it was covered by my health insurance.

Most important. I never understand why so many posters here (usually first-timers, to be fair) start out by asking where they can find a doctor for x, or a specific drug for y, rather than simply going to their own doctor first.

Regardless of whether you need to do so for the insurance to pay (and if you have supplemental you may not need to) it seems obvious to me that the best place to ask about a specific medical issue is a medical professional rather than a group of strangers on an internet forum.

You need to go to a general doctor first - who will assess the reason for the neck/jaw pain. It can be very serious and related to heart failure- so you need to find the cause first, and then treat accordingly. The internet is really not a good place for this.

You could also try a chiropractor/chiropraktiker (they are covered by LaMal). Most LaMal plans allow you to go directly without going through your family doctor. An osteopath will not be covered by LaMal, only by complementary plans.

You may need to have the jaw re-set as well as the neck.

It might be worth looking at Cranio Sacral therapy, there are a number of pressure points inside the mouth that Physios and Osterios don't usually work on and not all CSTs do this either. My wife has had some success with referrals from dentists when other treatments haven't worked. It is pretty alternative so decide for yourself if it is worth trying and like a lot of alternative treatments there have been outrageous claims about what it can help which often overrides the good it can do.

Someone new to Switzerland might not understand how this system works, as it is different than systems elsewhere. If one is new here, asking strangers on an internet forum specifically intended to help folks find their feet here is a logical thing to do. EF is often the only resource a newbie can easily access. No harm in asking, or in our answering, if only to tell the poster to go see a GP.

Additionally:

There might not be a GP in the area taking new patients. A frequent problem out my way.

Due to COVID, some GPs might not be seeing anyone but emergency patients for the next months. Also the case out my way.

I agree this can be a problem. All health insurance companies have a basic form of health insurance based around the telemed model where you first call a hotline before even seeing a doctor so it might be worthwhile doing this first even with top medical insurance.

Is there really anywhere with a health system that meant you wouldn't first go to your family doctor if you're suffering from jaw and neck pain of unknown causes, like this? I find it hard to imagine, TBH.

Hi, We usually come on short term visas, hence depending on the area that we get our house ,we find a doctor. Hence, i don't have a family doctor or our own doctor.
I usually do a web search but sometimes i prefer asking the gurus on Englishforum as i always get better answers here.

I understand your point, but in all honesty, it's been my experience that sometimes regular people (i.e. non-doctors) can have some pretty good advice regarding things that they themselves have experienced (and things that a doctor might not think to suggest).

As an example, I had seen numerous doctors and physiotherapists for my bruxism problem, and yet not one of them ever mentioned taking magnesium. But it was the final thing -- and the only thing -- that ever ended up curing it.

On that note... To the OP, I forgot to mention that for the neck and back pain, magnesium oil (applied to the skin) can really help with that pain. Whenever I get a sore upper back, I have my other half spray about 4 sprays of magnesium oil on there and then my back pain is usually gone within about 15 minutes. (But that is by no means a substitute for regular magnesium supplements -- taken orally).

This is the magnesium oil that I use:
https://www.mcdrogerie.ch/zechstein-...QaAuWLEALw_wcB

It really is excellent for muscle aches. I even put it on my cheeks sometimes before bed if I start to feel the bruxism acting up again, in my jaw (it works like a muscle relaxer).

I think there are plenty of places where the concept of a family doctor doesn’t exist.
It seems alien to us because that is the system we are used to but that’s not how it is everywhere.

I take on board all the above comments- but in the case of neck and jaw pain- it is massively important to assess the cause- as they can be signs of an impending stroke, or serious heart problems. So the internet is just not the place.

This. This area is so packed with emergency situations that I can easily imagine GPs not taking new patients.

I never had a family doctor before moving out, since my family are doctors.

OP - thanks for explaining, your question here makes complete sense. From my experience, I'd see somebody for the reason why you hurt, first. Physio later, they aren't most of the times medical doctors and couldn't refer you. Though mine is a god, in terms of experience and expertise. If other large joints hurt, a rheumatologist could see you and run tests and refer you elsewhere if the reason is someting else (they also refer for xrays, cat scans, MRI, etc.). But a family doctor is a handy and safe person to have if you need referals, tests, especially if it proves to not be a joint/spine issue but something else.

__________________
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Just to point out that this practice is a pseudoscientific complementary alternative therapy, with no conclusive evidence of the effectiveness. Although to be fair, there's a small amount of evidence that it and osteopathy can be useful for certain types of back pain. Do check out the risks regardless - certain treatments do carry some nasty risks.

This one has even less scientific basis, and less evidence of any effectivity at all. But if you like homeopathy, you'll love it. Nice head massage.

I am surprised by this comment. In the UK it is totally disapproved of to treat direct members of your family- and even more so to prescribe, or refer to specialists- as it is very difficult to be objective- unless in a real emergency waiting for ambulance, etc.


As a teenage young woman - I for sure was pleased to be able to consult an independent GP, and not a family member.

Well, we're not in the UK - people do things differently in different countries.

Indeed- but it is OK to be surprised, no?