Functional Manual Therapy® for Jaw Pain

TMD, also commonly called TMJ is quite a common complaint we see in the clinic. There are many people however that do have no awareness a physical therapist can help. We will often treat in conjunction with a dentist if oral appliances are necessary. There are many reasons for this lack of awareness, but likely the largest reason is that many therapists do not have the confidence to manage and help people with jaw pain. I can speak to this because this was ME! The section in PT school on the TMJ was very short and not very thorough. Everyone in my class including me hoped they didn’t draw the card on our practical where we had to evaluate and treat the jaw! It wasn’t until I began taking classes in functional manual therapy® that I became confident in helping people with jaw pain. I hope this article will be a resource to help bring awareness about TMJ, how we treat this area, and how you may be able to decrease your jaw pain yourself! Enjoy.

There can be many causes of jaw pain but lets focus on a few:

• Directly

  • excessive clinching

  • chewing difficult/tough foods

  • trauma to the head/jaw area

• Indirectly

  • forward head/slumped posture

  • referred pain from the upper/mid portion of the neck

  • stress

Many times, it is not one of these causes in isolation, but a combination. The knowledge of the potential cause/driver can help guide our focus on treatment.

For instance, if there has been a trauma to the head/neck area we may focus on not just the TMJ but also the neck and skull area. Conversely, if the main driver is from sitting at a desk all day with poor posture, we may focus more on desk ergonomics, manual therapy and strengthening to improve the capacity to achieve a good posture, as well as direct treatment to the TMJ/upper neck areas.

OK so what do you do about it?

Below are three videos I made in late 2020 when we were in the midst of a pandemic.

In the first video I highlight common causes and overview of TMD. I mention an additional cause in mask wearing as this was very applicable during this time.

In the second video, I highlight how I typically dive into treatment directly associated to the jaw area. In this video, I am assessing and treating as I go along but please note, there is a thorough evaluation process outside of what is shown in this video. This video was meant more to be a demonstration of my workflow and how I think about treatment for this area. The key is to improve joint symmetry and reduction of muscle tone to reduce the abnormal forces placed on the TMJs.

In the third video, I demonstrate and talk through how to assess and treat your own TMJ. If you are reading this, I hope you find some relief with the techniques outlined in the video.

We are located in Charlotte, NC. If you have a need for more extensive hands-on work for your TMD, we would love to help! You can click the book appointment button at the top right corner of this page, send an email to info@congruencypt.com OR call us at 704-781-7473. We look forward to connecting!

Written by Travis Gerrald PT, DPT, CFMT