Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Dysfunction

The TMJ is the joint that forms between the jaw and the head. There is a tremendous amount of stress that is placed on this joint every day, as it must open and close with eating and talking. This joint requires a complex muscular system to control motion and prevent overstrain injury. In many cases this muscular balance can become affected and place excessive / repetitive strain on this region. When this happens it will lead to a variety of symptoms such as jaw pain, clicking with opening and closing the mouth, and headaches.

Our Approach

Since muscle imbalance is the main source of dysfunction at the TMJ, treatment is focused around the correction of this muscles imbalance to allow proper function and control of mouth opening. This involves soft tissue techniques such as Myofascial Release Techniques (MRT), facilitated stretching and functional rehabiltation. In some cases the TMJ itself will need to be released. When this is the case we use gentle joint mobilizations. Due to the delicate nature of this joint we do not use chiropractic adjusting techniques at this area.