TMJ and Jaw Pain
Jaw pain and neck pain are very closely related in most cases. Having pain in the jaw can be life altering for obvious reasons. The jaw is made up of a single joint on each side of the face. The muscles and joint are the typical pain generators. Having an experienced physical therapist diagnose and treat your jaw pain can save you money and decrease your chances of needing to see a dentist or doctor for this condition. Check out the list below to see commonly treated jaw pain diagnoses with physical therapy.
Common Causes of Jaw Pain
Muscle Dysfunction
TMJ refers to multiple diagnoses that cause jaw pain. Muscular tightness is one cause of TMJ pain. When the muscles surrounding the jaw are too tight or are over-active they can cause one side of the jaw to pull harder than the other.
Trismus
When the muscles of the jaw are tightened and clinched and will not relax the result is trismus or "lock-jaw". This limits the amount of jaw opening and makes it very difficult to talk and eat.
How Will Physical Therapy Help My Jaw Pain?
Treatment of jaw pain and neck pain together has been an effective treatment technique to decrease the chances of the jaw pain from coming back. The use of dry needling and spinal manipulations has shown to be particularly effective at treating this condition. Reach out to TIM today to address your jaw pain!