Many people out there suffer from temporomandibular joint dysfunction or TMJ dysfunction. What this means is that you have issues with the joints in your jaw, also known as your temporomandibular joint. This can include pain, clicking, grinding, and locking just to name a few. So what can cause TMJ dysfunction? It can be caused by trauma, arthritis, clenching and/or grinding of the teeth. Many people are also unaware that physiotherapists can treat the TMJ.

We see people in the clinic all the time that have jaw pain that came on for no apparent reason. What we find is that poor posture or a recent change in posture (ie. more time spent sitting) can bring this on. So try this as an experiment. First sit up straight in your chair and bite your teeth together. Then slouch forward and do the same thing. When you slouch forward as many of us do throughout the day, it changes your bite. What our body does is try to correct the bite when we are in the slouched position, which causes stress on the TMJ and the muscles around it, which causes pain in the TMJ.

Another very common reason for TMJ issues that we see all the time is due to teeth clenching or grinding. Many people clench their teeth when they are under a lot of stress.  This causes a lot of tension in the muscles around the jaw, which can also lead to jaw pain. A physiotherapist can release the muscles around the jaw to try to alleviate this pain. Your dentist can also prescribe a custom-made bite guard to be worn at night to decrease the clenching while you are sleeping.

There can also be problems with the disc in the TMJ. As seen in the 3rd figure below, there is a disc at the top of TMJ. It acts as a cushion between the jaw and the skull. Sometimes that disc can be displaced forward, which can cause painful clicking, and potential locking of the jaw. A physiotherapist can use some soft tissue techniques to try to decrease the clicking but less rarely, surgery may be required for issues with disc.

If you are suffering from jaw pain, physiotherapy can help. Book an assessment with us at Active Physio Works today by calling (780) 458-8505.