Could your Jaw Pain be Caused by Poor Posture?
Think you might have temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD)? It’s possible that your posture is to blame. A variety of factors can cause TMD, but recent research suggests that improper head and neck posture may significantly contribute to TMD symptoms such as jaw pain, jaw stiffness, and or clicking of the jaw.
The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is the hinge joint that connects the lower jaw to the skull. This joint is responsible for all the movements of the jaw, such as chewing, speaking, and yawning. An individual with mild TMD may have occasional difficulty with these jaw movements. However, in severe cases of TMD, an individual may experience long-lasting symptoms that include extreme restriction of jaw movement and excruciating pain when attempting to move the jaw. Treatment for those with TMD can be frustrating, as many struggle to find the cause of their symptoms. Of interest, recent studies have found that an individual’s head and neck posture plays an important role in TMJ function and could be the cause of many TMD cases. One study found that as an individual’s head and neck posture worsens, the severity of their TMD symptoms tend to increase. These researchers have theorized that when the head and neck posture is properly aligned, the TMJ is able to operate in its optimal range of motion and without undue stress on the joint.
A case study in 2018 tested this theory. This study set out to correct the head and neck posture of a 24-year-old female with TMD. With the use of Chiropractic Biophysics (CBP) protocol, the researchers were able to improve the woman’s posture by 95%, which resulted in the complete resolution of her chronic jaw pain and clicking. This was the first study published that showed objective improvement in an individual’s head and neck posture to treat TMD successfully. Since this publication, CBP has been utilized to treat TMD successfully around the world.
At Modern Chiropractic Center we are proud to be one of the largest CBP clinics in the world and have helped hundreds of patients with TMD symptoms. If you are experiencing TMD symptoms and want to see if your head and neck posture could be the root cause of your problem, give our office a call at 208-314-1357 (Boise location) or 208-205-9934 (Nampa location) to get scheduled for a free consultation and exam. We will use the latest methods of biomechanical analysis to measure and assess the severity of your posture and will review the evidence-based methods that can be used to help manage, improve and possibly correct your jaw discomfort.
