Do You Have Temporomandibular Disorder?
If so my TMD assessment includes the examination of
- full body, jaw and cranium for postural and joint dysfunction
- breathing rate, patterns as well as airway adequacy
- psycho-social aspects of pain with an emphasis on stress management
A comprehensive approach to TMD Treatment
- Counseling and advice for activities of daily living. This can be as simple as finding comfortable sleeping postures.
- Joint mobilization/manipulation
- Soft tissue mobilization / myofascial release
- Intraoral release techniques
- Cranio-sacral assessment and treatment
- Modalities as appropriate to decrease pain and inflammation
- Breathing -Restoration of normal rate and pattern
- Postural re-education including determining the proper resting position of the jaw
- Prescription of an appropriate exercise plan to address range of motion and strength deficits
- Stress reduction techniques including Conflict resolution techniques, Sensorimotor psychotherapy, Emotional freedom therapy and Self hypnosis
Common Symptoms Associated with TMD
Ask Yourself...
- Does your jaw joint make a popping, clicking or snapping sound when you move it?
- Do you hear and/or feel a grating sound in your jaw joint on movement?
- Is the joint tender to external pressure? This can be assessed by manually pressing the area in the front of the ear.
- Do you clinch and/or grind your teeth at night or during the day?
- Do you sometimes have difficulty opening or closing your mouth?
- Does your jaw deviate to one side on opening?
- If you have tinnitus (ringing in your ears), does the ringing sound change in any way as you open and close your mouth while applying external pressure to the joint?
- Do you have frequent episodes of vertigo and/or nausea?
- Do you have ear sensitivity and/or pain associated with sound?
- Do you have recurring ear aches for which the doctor can find no apparent cause?
- Do you have recurring migraine-like headaches that do not respond to migraine medicine and for which the doctor can find no cause?
- Do you have facial pain?
- Are your neck and shoulder muscles constantly tense and/or painful?
- Do you have a recurrent knot in the muscles on the edge of your shoulder blades closest to the spine?
- Do you feel chronically fatigued and/or depressed?
