Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction and Chiropractic
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) connects the jaw to the skull, just in front of each ear, and allows you to open and close your mouth, chew and speak. It is one of the most used joints in the body: it moves thousands of times a day, and for this very reason it is particularly sensitive to muscular and postural imbalances.
When this joint does not work properly, we speak of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). The most common symptoms are jaw pain, clicking or popping when opening the mouth, difficulty chewing and a feeling of stiffness in the area.
Why do I have a TMJ dysfunction?
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It rarely has a single cause. It often arises from an accumulation of muscle tension linked to bruxism (teeth grinding, especially at night), stress, poor posture of the neck and shoulders, or an imbalance in dental occlusion. The jaw is closely connected, muscularly and neurologically, to the cervical spine: tension in the neck can be reflected in the temporomandibular joint, and vice versa.
For this reason, TMD should often be assessed not in isolation, but together with overall cervical posture.
What causes disorders such as trigeminal neuralgia and tinnitus?
The temporomandibular joint sits in an anatomical area dense with nerve and muscle connections, shared with the trigeminal nerve (responsible for facial sensation) and with structures near the ear. For this reason, a TMJ dysfunction can in some cases be associated with disorders such as:
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Referred facial pain, which in some patients overlaps with or is confused with the symptoms of trigeminal neuralgia
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Tinnitus (ringing or whistling in the ears), due to the anatomical proximity between the joint and the structures of the ear
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Headache and neck pain, due to the muscular connection between jaw, neck and base of the skull
It is important to be clear: not all cases of trigeminal neuralgia or tinnitus are linked to the TMJ; these are conditions that can have many other causes, some of which require a specific neurological or ENT evaluation. The temporomandibular component is one of the possible causes to rule out or confirm, not an automatic diagnosis.
What can you do for me?
At Studio Chiropratico Belig in Florence, the assessment of TMD starts from a complete analysis of jaw mechanics and cervical posture, to understand whether and how much muscle tension in the neck and jaw contributes to your symptoms.
Chiropractic treatment works to reduce muscle tension in the cervico-mandibular area and improve joint mobility, which can help relieve related symptoms as well, when their origin is actually musculoskeletal.
Joint dysfunctions must be evaluated both from the standpoint of dental occlusion, which is a matter for dentistry, and from the mechanical and postural standpoint, in particular craniocervical.
Our collaborations make it possible to obtain the best results for this type of problem.
