TMJ treatment is focused on the reduction of tension in the muscles of the neck, head and jaw. Treatment of the muscles involves working inside the mouth for 20 to 30 seconds at a time, alternating between right and left sides. Attention is also given to the cervical region, shoulders, spinal muscles, and any potential trigger points within those muscles.
Before we dive into any muscular and massage therapies, we begin our process with a one-on-one consultation. During this conversation, we learn more about you and your history with pain in addition to understanding your current symptoms and levels of mobility. Our team will explain why you are experiencing pain and offer any short-term therapy to improve immediate discomfort.
Next we identify the source of muscular pain and locate any associated trigger points across the body through a hands-on evaluation. We’ll look at the symmetry of your mouth (how it opens and closes) and examine the muscles surrounding your skull, neck and jawline to detect what other issues may be contributing to your pain.
From here we’ll develop a customized plan of treatment that will put you on the path towards living a pain-free life. Before each session, we’ll chat about how your jaw and body feels since your last visit to track the course of pain. During treatment, our muscular therapies will focus on alleviating tension in the muscles as well as eliminating trigger points.
Sometimes when the temporomandibular joint becomes inflamed or misaligned, it can throw the rest of your body off balance. For instance, a pain in your leg or lower back can actually be rooted in misalignment of your jaw. That’s why we believe in an interdisciplinary approach to treating your TMJD pain. We work side by side with dentists, therapists and other members of the medical community to alleviate your pain and get you back to living a normal, pain-free life.
We work with: