What is it?
Temporal Mandibular Dysfunction (TMD) is a condition in which there is jaw pain that can result from many different sources. This can impact your ability to eat, sleep and concentrate at work. Symptoms can manifest as headaches, neck pain, clicking/popping and a painful jaw.
Physical Therapy and TMD
When you first come to Physical Therapy for TMD your physical therapist will evaluate multiple factors and determine how they are contributing to your jaw pain. Some examples of these are listed below:
- Muscle tightness in the jaw and neck
- Postural strength
- Habits that may be contributing to your symptoms such as chewing gum and grinding your teeth
- Stress and how you manage it
- Sleep habits
This is not an all inclusive list but are some of the factors your physical therapist will examine.
What Treatment will look like:
Treatment for your TMD could include a wide variety of things. One of these treatment tools is not superior to the other but the combination of these tools as they relate to your specific impairments is what will help to resolve your symptoms. Some of these treatments could include massage, joint mobilization, postural strengthening, night splint education, stress reduction/mindfulness and dry needling.
If your dealing with jaw pain there consider reaching out to us for a free consultation so we can help you get back to normal life.