What causes TMD?

Frequent causes of TMD include:

• Past trauma to the jaw such as a hit sustained while playing sports or car accidents. It has been shown that these traumas often happen years before TMD symptoms actually arise.
• Bruxism, also known as grinding the teeth, has been proven to be a frequent cause of TMD
• Dental issues such as poor alignment of the teeth
• Repetitive stresses to the jaw such as frequent gum chewing or nail biting

What is the Temporomandibular joint(TMJ)?

The TMJ is located just in front of the ears and is made up of bones, ligaments, muscles and a disc that work together to allow for smooth and easy motion of the jaw. Your posture and neck musculature must also be taken into consideration as they play a very important role in TMJ function as well. Because all of these structures must work together for proper motion dysfunction of even one of these areas can cause significant problems.

What can physical therapy do to help?

More and more research is proving that one of the most effective treatments for TMD is physical therapy. Through the use of hands on manual therapy techniques, postural correction and targeted strengthening and stretching of the tissues of the TMJ normal motion is restored to the joint, reducing or eliminating symptoms all together.

Do you have frequent headaches?

Headaches and TMD are closely linked to one another. According to research up to 77% of patients with TMD also suffer from frequent headaches even if they are not having pain in the jaw. Luckily it has been shown that physical therapy is just as effective in treating these headaches as the TMD itself.