At Empowered Health, our Geelong chiropractors are experienced in dealing with temporomandibular joint dysfunction, or otherwise known as TMJ disorder. According to demographical research, it is thought that up to 70% of the population exhibit signs of TMJ dysfunction, with 10% of this group going on to experience symptoms related to the TMJ.
Our Geelong chiropractors understand how impactful TMJ issues can be, whether when we are chewing, talking, working or sleeping. Our Geelong based team have covered information on the causes, assessment and management of TMJ disorders previously.
In this blog post, we will discuss some key signs of TMJ dysfunction our Geelong team see.
Normal mouth opening is measured from the top tip of your bottom teeth, to the bottom tip of your top teeth. For most people, this should fall somewhere between 40-50mm when the mouth is completely open (or approximately 3 finger widths).
Note – This range should not be painful or sore either.
When our two TMJs work well together in a synchronous, symmetrical manner, we should see a linear movement pattern when we open our jaw.
However, when we experience changes in the function of our muscles, discs or joints related to the TMJ, we can start seeing asymmetries to the way our jaw moves, often showing a ‘J’ or curved like jaw motion.
Audible noises from the TMJ when moving the jaw can mean a few different things, however, a common cause of noises is due to disc movement.
Ideally, the disc within our TMJ moves in a cohesive way without restricting normal jaw motion or causing pain.
Pain or tenderness over the TMJ (in front of the ear) can be a sign of an inflammatory process occurring in or around the TMJ, commonly involving the joint capsule or synovium.
This can occur often occur due to an acute trauma, or from ongoing stress to the TMJ caused by dysfunctional movement, postural stress, increased muscle tension, a centrally mediated nervous system problem, and of course, a combination them.
Summarising the signs of TMJ disorder:
- Pain over the jaw, face or ear region
- Difficulty eating or chewing foods
- Difficulty opening the mouth wide
- Clicking or locking of the jaw
- Frequent or reoccurring headaches
P.s If you’d like an appointment, book via our online booking system, call our clinic on (03) 4250 9865 or email info@empowered-health.com.au
Pundkar, S. U. S. H. M. A., Patil, D. E. E. P. A. L. I., & Naqvi, W. A. Q. A. R. (2019). Effectiveness of Rocabado approach and Conventional Physiotherapy on pain, ROM and QOL in patients with TMJ dysfunction: Comparative Study. J Crit Rev, 6(6), 925-929.
Rezaie, K., Amiri, A., Takamjani, E. E., Shirani, G., Salehi, S., & Alizadeh, L. (2022). The Efficacy of Neck and Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) Manual Therapy in Comparison With a Multimodal Approach in the Patients with TMJ Dysfunction: A Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial. Med. J. Islam. Repub. Iran, 36, 328-337.
Fiorillo, L., & Musumeci, G. (2020). TMJ dysfunction and systemic correlation. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology, 5(1), 20.
