TMJ Treatment Options
There are a multitude of ways to treat the TMJ and this post will go into a few ways that we work to relieve pain in the jaw and other aspects that play into jaw pain.
Treatments may include:
- Stretching
- Relaxation techniques
- Neuromuscular control
- Strengthening
- Intraoral manual treatment and joint mobilizations
- Treatment of the cervical and thoracic spine
Stretching
You have multiple muscles in your mouth and jaw that control the movements of your jaw. You also have muscles in your neck and upper back that connect in or near the jaw and can affect the positioning of your TMJ. If these muscles become tight it can cause strain and pulling at your temporomandibular joint and lead to increased stress and pain. By stretching these muscles, we can help to relieve that pressure and position your jaw at its optimal position.
Strengthening
The muscles in your jaw can also be weak. A weak muscle can feel achy and lead to pain. Strengthening will help to alleviate these sensations. Strengthening the muscles surrounding the jaw joint also brings blood flow, nutrients, and alleviates forces off the jaw joint.
Neuromuscular Control
Some TMJ conditions are due to the muscles on each side of the face acting at different times or not turning on when they are supposed to. Working to get the muscle activation times synced up can help alleviate muscular asymmetries and avoid stressing passive structures.
Intraoral Manual Treatment and Joint Mobilizations
A common source of TMJ pain is excessive tension in the jaw muscles or tight joint capsules, which limit motion. By working on the tissues intraorally, we can manipulate the muscles from the inside, rather than strictly working on muscles that we can only access from the outside. We also perform joint mobilizations intraorally, which will help stretch the joint capsule and lead to increased jaw range of motion.
Treating the Cervical and Thoracic Spine
Postural muscle strength and cervical/thoracic mobility play a large role in TMJ pain. If we cannot get proper motion at certain joints of the spine ā it can affect how much we are demanding of our jaws. We also need strong postural muscles because incorrect posture may enable improper alignment of your jaw, which can lead to increased stresses and forces on the TMJ.
If you are seeking TMJ rehabilitation, schedule an appointment here, call us at 312-643-1555, or email [email protected].
Dynamic Physical Therapy ā¢ https://dynamic-pt.com ā¢ 220 W Huron St Suite 2004, Chicago, IL 60654
