The muscles and ligaments you use to move your mouth connect to your temporomandibular joints, which is where your skull and lower jawbone meet. Temporomandibular disorders including arthritis, dislocation, injury or infection in your TMJ, can cause painful clicking and locking in your jaw, headaches, neck pain and ringing in your ears.
So, what causes TMJ or Jaw pain?
It can be caused by a few different things, including:
· An injury to your jaw, head or neck
· Orthodontic treatment
· Jaw clenching and grinding your teeth (these can be linked to stress and anxiety)
· General wear and tear of the joint which is usually by osteoarthritis
· Some cases there is no obvious cause for the TMJ pain.
Smiling, laughing, talking, chewing — these all are facial movements you make daily with little to no thought. But, for people suffering with TMJ, those simple movements may cause you a lot of pain. For many people, TMJ symptoms can resolve in a few weeks to months. Painful symptoms can flare up from certain habits that strain your neck and jaw muscles. However, for some people, pain and discomfort when moving their facial muscles is chronic and can be made worse by clenching, chewing, swallowing or teeth grinding over time. Fortunately, along with treatment from your TMJ qualified Physiotherapist, there are a few things that you can do to help manage and relieve pain and symptoms.
Simple tips for TMJ / Jaw pain
TMJ pain may go away without any form of treatment. In some cases, just resting the joint will alleviate symptoms. Here are some things that you can do to help rest your TMJ:
· Eating softer foods
· Cutting all food down into small and manageable pieces
· Avoid clenching your jaw
· Avoid opening your mouth wide
· Try not to chew chewing gum
· Gentle jaw strengthening exercises that have been prescribed to you.
What a TMJ Physio session can look like:
· A detailed history of your issue to determine the exact cause of your jaw pain.
· A thorough assessment of how your jaw moves to determine where the restrictions are and where your pain is coming from.
- The muscles you chew with are a very common cause of jaw-related symptoms. Your physio will assess these muscles by feeling to see if there is more tension than there should be.
· TMJ treatment includes targeted, gentle mobilisation of the affected structures and remedial massage to affected muscles (a very effective treatment for the majority of jaw-related issues), home exercises, and education about your condition.
· You’ll get a detailed personalised plan that addresses all the contributing factors to your jaw pain and outlines how you can make lasting improvements.
· Most importantly you will be given the tools to keep your recovery pushing forward outside of the session.
If you have persistent TMJ pain, popping jaws or other symptoms, consider booking in to see our TMJ qualified Physio. They can help you find out why your jaw is aching and determine what kind of treatment is best suited for you.
Book in to see Tim here if you have any jaw issues