Have you ever noticed random irritation in your jaw or even pain while chewing? Temporomandibular joint disorder, or TMJ limits functions of the jaw and can limit your ability to open your mouth and chew.

Your temporomandibular joint is located in front of your ears and on each side of your face where your jaw joins with your skull. If left untreated, the pain may only get worse and result in other health issues. At Evolve, my team and I can help you reduce the pain that is associated with your TMJ.

What can cause TMJ?

There are a number of issues that can cause TMJ or TMJ flare ups. Below are a few examples: Chronic Jaw Clenching: It is common for people to clench their jaw at night because of stress. If you do this a lot it can cause TMJ.

Bad Posture: By having bad posture, or leaning your head forward awkwardly like you do at a desk job or while on the phone, you can eventually cause TMJ because it puts added stress on your jaw.

eeth Alignment Issues: If your teeth come together in certain ways due to improper alignment this can also cause stress on your joints and cause TMJ.

Surgery: If you have had surgery on your face or jaw you may experience TMJ at some point post-surgery.

TMJ Symptoms

• Jaw pain
• Jaw fatigue
• Difficulty opening your mouth to eat or talk
• Ringing in your ears
• Dizziness
• Headache
• Popping sounds in your jaw
• Neck pain
• Lock Jaw

Other Issues Associated with TMJ

If you have the following you may have an increased risk of developing a TMJ related disorder.

• Arthritis
• Jaw Injuries
• Long-term Teeth Grinding

If you have TMJ, you may have heard that there isn’t much that you can do to treat it and that many people just live with the pain. However, there are a few ways that our physical therapy services can help with TMJ pain.

Posture Education: By being educated on your posture you can learn what ways of sitting may bring on TMJ due to unnecessary stress being put on your jaw.

Improving Jaw Movement: Manual therapy, a hands-on therapy method, can be used to reduce pain and discomfort in the jaw to improve movement and function.

Other Treatments for TMJ

If your TMJ is most likely caused by teeth alignment issues you may be referred to a dentist. Your dentist may be able to have appliances made for you to correct alignment and relieve your pain.

Ways to Prevent TMJ Symptoms

• Relax Your Face
• Avoid Grinding Teeth
• Jaw Massage
• Practice Good Posture
• Stretch Regularly
• Chew Your Food Slower

Work with Evolve to Relieve Your TMJ Pain

You don’t have to continue to suffer from your TMJ pain alone. At Evolve, our hands-on physical therapy techniques can help to lessen your pain and improve jaw mobility. To learn more about our TMJ pain relief services, or to schedule a consultation, you can give my team and I a call today. We look forward to hearing from you.

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Schedule a Parkinson's Disease Physical Therapy Consultation with Evolve today by calling- 1-718-258-3300