Jaw Pain
Got jaw pain?
Clicking, crackles, locking, or headaches?
We can help.
This week we are talking about all things temperomandibular joint (TMJ). First, let’s learn some things about the TMJ! We have two of them, and the joints connect our jaw to our skull. The joints have a disc just like the discs in between your vertebrae. When you open and close your mouth, the joint acts as a sliding/hinge joint so your mouth can smoothly move. Overall, they are very complex joints and can be negatively affected from many different things, causing a variety of symptoms and pain.
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Some risk factors that can lead to temperomandibular dysfunction (TMD) include people who grind their teeth or clench their jaw. In addition to this, blunt trauma to the face or head can also cause TMD. Even repetitive movements can cause this; for example, a student sitting at their desk leaning their head/jaw against their hand. Arthritis can also affect this joint and cause pain. Overall there are many reasons that can disrupt the normal function of the TMJ’s disc and cartilage.
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There are a wide range of TMD symptoms. You can have pain and tenderness over the jaw/face. You can develop crackling when you open your mouth that is called crepitus. You can also have clicking, jaw shifting, and even locking of the jaw. You may also experience pain or difficulty with chewing or opening your mouth.
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Something that is a little less known about TMD: it can cause headaches. In general headaches can have a wide variety of causes, but the jaw should never be overlooked as it is common to experience headaches when you have TMD.
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So what do we do in office for those coming in with TMD? First we watch how you open your mouth over and over. We then feel the joints as you open and close your mouth to assess what the jaw is doing throughout the entire movement. We assess the muscles that move your mouth and see if there are any trigger points/areas of pain. We then continue through an exam and figure out what will best help your issue.
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More than likely, it will have to do with work on the different muscles of the face and jaw. This includes stretching as well as strengthening. Some of these muscles are reached from the outside of the face, and some of them are reached from the inside of the mouth. Though it may not feel great, we glove up and strip those tight muscles which can lead to a huge decrease in symptoms. Dry needling may also be an option for some jaw issues which we perform in office.
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We also will send you home with some jaw exercises! As you can imagine, TMD does not develop overnight. So we must chip away at correcting the function of the joint every single day.
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In the video below, we fill you in on the ideal resting position of the jaw, as well as an exercise to try if you’re suffering from TMD. As always, if you continue to have symptoms we would love to get you in for an assessment and treatment!
