Jaw pain? You may have TMJ disorder

Symptoms of Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder include pain in the jaw and a clicking or grinding noise. The noise may be due to misalignment of the disc between the two bones in the jaw. Many patients complain of the following symptoms associated with TMJ:
-jaw pain
-chronic headaches
-limited jaw mobility or locking of the jaw
-popping, clicking, grinding noise
-ear pain
-neck pain or stiffness

Causes:
-improper bite
-trauma
-tight muscles (neck or jaw)
-poor posture
-stress
-upper cervical dysfunction

You may be surprised to read that poor posture and neck pain are often associated with TMJ disorder. This is due to overlap and proximity of the muscles and joints in the neck and the jaw. It is not uncommon for patients to get significant relief in their TMJ symptoms after treatment to loosen tight muscles and stiff joints in the upper cervical spine.

So what should you do if you have TMJ?
-Get a proper assessment by your chiropractor to identify the likely cause. If the cause is thought to be due to improper bite (occlusion) or intrinsic problem in the joint (disc issue) then you will be referred to your dentist. On the other hand (60-75% of cases) if the likely cause is stress, tight muscles in the jaw and neck, poor posture and upper cervical joint dysfunction then treatment will consist of manipulation and soft tissue release. Most patients have relief within 2-4 treatments and many have full resolution within 4-6 weeks.