TMJ Pain Care: A Rehabilitation Approach for Temporomandibular Joint Pain
Are you looking for TMJ pain treatment in Orlando and Central Florida?
Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) can affect the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and/or the muscles, nerves, and other tissues surrounding the TMJ.
The TMJ connects the mandible to the skull and helps open and close the jaw about two thousand times daily!
Surely, if you feel sore jaws, jaw pain when talking or eating, or pain with opening and closing the mouth, you are not alone. Read on to learn more about TMJ pain and its treatment.
Symptoms of TMD may include:
- Jaw pain
- Jaw clicking or popping
- Painful chewing
- Unstable bite
- Ear pain
- Headaches and facial pain
- Dizziness
- Neck, shoulder, and arm pain
- Eye pain
- Inability to fully open the mouth
Causes of jaw pain
Common causes of jaw pain include:
- Inflammation (synovitis)
- Arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, osteoarthritis)
- Joint instability or hypermobility
- Cervical radiculopathy (pinched nerve)
- Muscle spasms
- Myofascial trigger points
- Teeth grinding or clenching
- Stress
- Displacement of the disc inside the TMJ
- Infection
Other problems can be confused with TMD; these include caries, sinusitis, trigeminal neuralgia, giant cell arteritis, and migraine.
Furthemore, TMD can occur together with other medical conditions including fibromyalgia, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, autoimmune disease, sleep apnea, and anxiety.
Myofascial pain as a cause of jaw pain
Myofascial trigger points are irritable spots in muscle tissue that can cause local and distant pain. People with TMDs may have trigger points around the head, neck, shoulder, and jaw that cause specific pain patterns.
Diagnosis/evaluation of TMJ pain
A physical exam is the first step to evaluating the TMJ and surrounding tissues. But if the findings are still not clear, we may need other imaging studies, such as x-rays, specialized CT scan, MRI, or ultrasound. Sometimes an injection in the TMJ can be diagnostic.
Treatment of TMJ pain
Fortunately, there is hope for people with TMDs. About 40% of people with TMD improve on their own and most improve with conservative therapy.
Treatment options for TMDs include:
- Self-care: Best home remedies for TMD include jaw rest, soft diet, self-massage, and warm compresses or heating pads
- Mouthguards
- Medications (such as anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxants)
- Exercises, stretching and physical therapy to help alleviate TMJ discomfort
- Pain modalities such as electrical stimulation
- Cognitive behavioral therapy, stress reduction, and eliminating incorrect habits such as clenching or excessive jaw opening
- Surgery in the worse cases
- Lifestyle and posture modifications, and regular aerobic exercise
- Manual medicine
Myofascial trigger point release and other manual medicine techniques for TMJ pain
Manual therapy can help relax the muscles of mastication and decrease pain. The therapeutic techniques used aim to correct posture, inactivate trigger points and relax the muscles and fascia. Since trigger points can cause referred pain and because the fascia connects different body parts, we often need to treat distant areas as well. For this reason, people with TMD often need treatment in the head, neck, shoulder, and even the hip to treat related trigger points and for overall body balance. Some techniques include massage and post-isometric relaxation (muscle contraction followed by relaxation).
Exercise and stretching for TMJ pain
Exercise can help relieve pain due to myofascial trigger points and improve range of motion. Specific exercises of the jaw can help relax the TMJ and improve pain, especially when combined with massage and manual therapy. Neck exercise can also help improve jaw pain and function.
Takeaways
TMJ pain may go away on its own, but for some people this may be a chronic problem, especially for those with coexisting conditions such as fibromyalgia, myofascial pain syndrome, or hypermobility spectrum disorders.
A rehabilitation approach including medication, posture correction, manual medicine with myofascial trigger point release, exercise, and other interventions can help improve your jaw pain and other TMD symptoms.
Looking for a specialist in Orlando, Central Florida who helps with jaw and TMJ pain relief?
We are here to help with your TMJ pain. Reach out today to schedule your appointment at Getting Well Physiatry.
Get the care you deserve for that nagging jaw pain!
Initial Assessment
Full medical assessment and hands-on treatment.
45-minute session
Usually, your second and third visits. We may use other modalities for pain, muscle spasms, and swelling.
30-minute session
Recommended if pain has improved enough so we can consider it a maintenance session.
Package
You may save if you invest in a package of four 30-minute sessions in advance (expires after 4 months)
