What Causes TMJ?

Increased Muscular Tension and Imbalances

TMJ issues often stem from a culmination of factors that gradually accumulate over time. These can include habits such as jaw clenching, teeth grinding, uneven chewing patterns, nail biting, heightened stress, and poor posture. As these behaviors persist, the muscles surrounding the TMJ joints become excessively tense, limiting movement and causing an imbalance between the left and right jaw joints. Prolonged tension may prompt the TMJ discs to shift from their proper positions, resulting in symptoms like clicking, popping, jaw pain, stiffness, locking, misalignments, and related conditions.

1. Manual Therapeutic Approaches

Facial massage and intra-oral releases, categorized under manual therapeutic approaches, have demonstrated remarkable effectiveness in treating TMJ pain and orofacial pain conditions. By targeting the sub-dermal pockets of tension and pain (trigger points), manual therapy techniques can swiftly reduce pain symptoms and associated muscle tension.

Our primary objective is to break up the knotty trigger points in the facial, head, neck, and shoulder muscles. Chronic tension, headaches, and migraines often accompany TMJ and face pain conditions. However, increasing blood flow to the affected areas can play a significant role in eliminating these painful issues. In addition, we strive to decrease inflammation through trigger point manipulation, which supports the body's natural healing process.

This includes:

• Intra-oral releases (contact applied to tight muscles inside he mouth releasing muscular tension and freeing up the jaw)

• Massage (applied to the facial and neck muscles that spasm with pain)

• Myofascial release (applied to the facial muscles)

• Joint mobilizations (mild joint movements that help losen and free up the jaw)

2. Technology

Ultrasound

Utilizing ultrasound technology in the musculature provides numerous benefits for individuals experiencing TMJ pain or face pain. Ultrasound therapy has demonstrated effectiveness in treating various chronic pain conditions.

Microcurrent

Cranial Electrical Stimulation (CES) is used in pain patients to push low-level electrical signals into the muscles. The result is a reduction in pain intensity and frequency.

Cold Laser

Cold laser technology is a treatment modality often used by The TMJ Relief Center to reduce trigger points, extremely tight muscle fibers often found within the muscles of the face when TMJ dysfunction is present. Cold laser incorporates red light photons, or infrared light waves that affect the hard and soft tissues of the body to encourage rapid and thorough healing.
Low-level cold laser offers multiple benefits to those who suffer with TMJ pain or face pain.  Cold laser reduces both pain and inflammation allowing the jaw to regain its normal movement with reduced pain, clicking, and locking.

3. Patient Education

At The TMJ Relief Center, we consider patient education to be a crucial aspect of achieving a timely recovery and long-term pain relief for TMJ sufferers. Our goal is to empower our patients with knowledge about their condition and provide them with strategies to monitor and maintain a healthier jaw. This includes teaching them about postural awareness, neuromuscular reeducation of the jaw, range of motion techniques, and education on how to eradicate harmful habits. By giving our patients these tools and strategies, we enable them to take an active role in their own recovery and help them maintain a pain-free life in the long run.

New patients are advised to undergo 3 - 4 Full Sessions before considering Express Sessions to maximize benefits.